...a word from Kathy

L ast week, I ate lunch with two of my dearest friends from China. They are both Ph.D. students at the University of Alabama and we often lunch together. One girl was telling us stories of her math classes and tutoring experiences. One little tidbit she shared was about an elementary school student she tutors. The following is their dialogue: Little Girl: Your eyes are different from mine. They’re squinty. Tutor: Yes, the shape is very different. Yours are round and mine are more oval. Little Girl: Well…can you still see all I see? After telling this, our friend broke into a huge smile, which made her eyes totally disappear, and she giggled in delight at the little girl’s question. She was not offended but thrilled with the relationship and innocence of the little girl. We all laughed and oohed about this darling little girl and how cute her comment. But now a week later, I’m still stuck on the question… Can you see all I see ? Certainly, my Chinese friends can see...

Warning: the words below are personal. I take no offense if you skip this blog… For me to write is a way to healing….so I must write…to let HIM into my brokenness. When I was growing up, I learned two difficult things: words can hurt people and the silence of no words can hurt people. So it seems words have always surrounded me in good ways and in bad. I find it interesting that now I write words to express my own heart’s joy, pain and celebration. I also find it interesting that my love language is words. So in contrast this also means that the way to hurt me most is through words. It’s January 3, and for the second time in this New Year I sit crying. I sit in my prayer chair, typing on my laptop as the tears stream down my face. So why tears today? It’s all about the words…words spoken plainly, unguarded and matter-of-factly from a teen or from a mom struggling with dementia. Harsh words from people I adore absolutely kill my heart. I think back to earlier d...