I was at a tiny Saturday mass at my tiny little parish when the priest came up to me and asked, "How is everything going, Nell?" And I made the decision to answer honestly and authentically instead of with the socially expected and standard "well" or "fine." I told him that there were so many... Continue Reading →
Holy Oops
I was thinking about going dancing this evening. Vintage dancing, the classy kind, where the guys softly lead from their fingers touching my shoulder-blade, and we kick and slide to bygone tunes. I packed my vintage-style dance shoes in the front seat this morning, in case I didn't have time to go home. I was... Continue Reading →
On falling
I spent Holy Week in a mad rush of waiting and then bustling and then back again, for early mornings and long nights in a cavernous church that was now full of flowers and palms and then later stripped of all such frivolity and then later filled with flowers upon flowers again. The sacred prayers.... Continue Reading →
So this is 30
Tuesday was both the farewell to my twenties and the eve of my thirties. I spent it thinking about any regrets I had and I thought of three: 1. The times I didn't follow God courageously. Because always always, when I did, He always provided. 2. The times I didn't love as deeply as I... Continue Reading →
And, just like that, the well was different
When I went to visit my spiritual director a few weeks ago, he prodded me a little bit, like he often does, about ministry and taking time for myself. Ministry of any kind makes one very prone to burnout. "How are you filling the well?" he asked me, and I didn't know the answer, but... Continue Reading →