It was on this Saturday one year ago—in this season when the goldenrod blooms and the leaves just begin to turn—that we made our vows under a majestic oak tree. Since then, I’ve been overwhelmed with gratitude, both solemn and joyful—this light but sacred weight to carry, like a bridal bouquet. A continuous sense of wonderment and thankfulness has pervaded my first year of marriage, like beautiful music ever playing in the background. God has blessed me far beyond what I could ask or imagine.   This morning at breakfast my husband of one year (whom I love even more than I did on our wedding day)...

the blue and yellow lines around our umbrella   the sparkling stripes laid wide and long across the ocean, alternating with the darkness of water   the glossy emerald stripe just off the shore between lines of frothy white waves   and that one cherished silver stripe around your finger gleaming gold against the hot sand

On a cold Sunday two weeks ago, my sisters and I stood under an overcast sky near our mother’s grave, each with a different bouquet of flowers to lay beside it. We were there to mark the day when, four years ago, she slept her last sleep and awoke in heaven.   Earlier that morning, when the sun was still shining and melting sparkling rivulets into the streets, I had the unexpected privilege of attending my childhood church with my mother’s parents. Filled with old family memories, I sat on the wooden pew next to my grandmother. The tone of her silvery voice singing Holy, holy, holy floated...

Today is my wedding day, and my father will read this poem during my ceremony.     Today is like the new wine flowing from the hands of Christ at the late hour during the wedding of Cana It is like the first blooms of spring and the brilliance of sunrise after the sunset before a long winter: Today is a tree of life. Today is the wonder of divine redemption after the death of dreams, like Isaac’s ram on the mountain It is like a feast at harvest, the evidence of seeds unseen cultivated by Sovereign hands: Today is a promise received. Today is a reflection of God who is faithful in covenant love,...

Peonies. Pink like the dawn, fragrant with beauty, awash with freshness like new mercies. I love waking up to their soft elegance on my kitchen table.       Today they stir thoughts lately on my mind: We have no idea how good God is. How deeply good, just how enduring His mercies are, as the Psalms proclaim over and over. His glories sweep over our lives every day, His words pour forth like sunlight. He is there, He is here, ever-present, accessible because of Jesus Christ.   Today He brings with Him the beauty of dawn, the fragrance of hope, the surety of mercies never grown...