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The Memories We Hold
When my grandfather died my mom and her siblings sat us cousins down and instructed us to write down one item we would like to have from our grandparents’ house to remember them by. I didn’t even have to think about it. I instantly scribbled “Copper Pot” and that is how it came to live…
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In Search of a Cure for “Busy”
As a kid I was fascinated by anthills. I would hunker down by a busy one and watch the ants go marching one by one, hurrying with their load so they can deposit it only to turn around and do it all over again. I wondered what it would be like to be part of…
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Thank You, Kind Stranger
I found it sitting by my desk, a bright gift bag with crisp white tissue paper. A belated baby shower gift, I assumed. So I peeked in the bag and searched for a card or a tag or any sort of identification. There was none to be found. I took out the tissue paper and…
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My “Me Too” Was For You: A Letter To Our Children
Dear Little Ones (For When You Are Not-So-Little-Anymore), Right now you are in my daughter’s preschool class, coloring and learning and being her friend. Or you are a stranger swinging next to her at the park, pumping your legs back and forth and enjoying the thrill of rising high and swinging back. You are largely…
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You Don’t Have To Live Like This
I wore my anxiety like a blanket in summer. Hot. Scratchy. Suffocating. I couldn’t take it off. It made me feel uncomfortable, restless, trapped. And I didn’t even realize it. Until she asked me: “Mommy, why are you wearing your nervous face?” The question stunned me. Was I? I guess I was. Why? I didn’t…
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Crap Happens
What’s a car accident?” she asked, as I turned onto a side street to avoid the traffic ahead. It was long past bedtime for my three-year-old, and I was eager to get her home. But a bad car accident left us searching for a detour. “It’s when two cars bump into each other and get…
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Here’s To The Helpers
October dawned with a national tragedy, following a September of natural disasters. I awoke today to a nation that is suffering – suffering from grief, and disbelief, and fear. How much pain can our hearts hold? How much fear can we live with? Is violence and disaster becoming a new normal? God, help us. I…
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Together
Kevin backed my car into a light pole the day he proposed. It was a rainy day at Wrightsville Beach, not at all what he had envisioned when he bought the ring and picked the date. It was eight years ago today, but it feels like it was last week. My, how we’ve changed since…
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Eat, Drink, Enjoy
My days often go like this: wake up (groggily and unenthusiastically), work out, drink coffee, make lunches, get kids ready, drink more coffee, go to school, frantically try to accomplish all that needs to be accomplished, drink more coffee, leave some things left undone on my to-do list, go home, make dinner, do the bathtime…
Rev. Laura Johnson
Pastor | Author