Photo by Mary Beth Griffo Rigby When I was a little girl, I noticed baby’s breath in the hair of the bride at a family wedding. Throughout my girlhood and adolescence, the lacy flower almost always lent its delicate beauty to bridal bouquets. I’ve always loved it. For years I’ve associated baby’s breath with brides. So when it was included in one of the cover design options for my book, it somehow felt like an appropriate representation of what my book is about—grappling with the unfulfilled desire for marriage. Months later, I learned that baby’s breath is the perfect symbolic image for my book, but...

This week, the world lost one of America’s best poets when 83-year-old Mary Oliver died. I still remember when I first discovered her poetry, perhaps 15 or 20 years ago. I found her poems to be rich with meaning but not abstruse, honest with depth of feeling but not depressing, and beautifully descriptive yet so much more than mere observation. My soul thrilled. Here was a writer—a poet!—who spoke of trees, flowers, the beach, and so many other aspects of nature as I experienced them, as though through a special relationship. (But let’s be honest: I detest ants and snakes, while she very obviously did...

I’m excited about this–a book launch/book signing event at a local Christian bookstore. Logos Christian Bookstore is a cute shop in Green Hills … and I have my eye on some unique, locally made products that I’m not going to name publicly because I’m buying them as Christmas gifts! Come check out the store to discover gifts for the people on your list … and to get your hands on my new book!    

It’s been a while since I blogged regularly—a long while. For more than two years, I studied for my master’s in communication while continuing to work full time. With only so many hours in the day, some things—in my case, blogging—had to be sacrificed while I worked toward a greater goal. I suppose that’s how it is for everyone pursuing a dream or a vision. Immediate desires and goals have to be put aside for the long-term vision to become a reality. That’s especially true when applied to a calling. For me, the longer-term climb of earning a master’s is just one part of the bigger picture of my...

  Soon after my mother died (eight years ago today), I met with a friend who had lost her father some years earlier. She told me that at that point, she was able to think about that awful day without feeling the horror of it.   I now know what she means. Death of a loved one is horrible. Its suddenness, its consumption, its finality all leave the bereaved almost stupefied with disbelief, broken with the loss.   But by God’s grace, I don’t feel the horror of my mother’s death anymore. I still experience a lot of grieving moments, and I miss her more than words can say. But I’m able to...

February started out as a difficult month for me this year. I had just begun a new class in my master’s program and spent a few weeks adjusting to the level of research required for assignments, all the while getting back into the swing of balancing a full-time job with schoolwork, church, and relational responsibilities. And I was anticipating today—the seven-year anniversary of my mother’s death—with more emotion and grieving moments than usual. Then, just before Valentine’s Day, the trees surrounding my office building broke into winter with springtime blossoms.     It was unexpectedly...