Longing. Webster’s defines it as “a strong persistent yearning or desire, especially one that cannot be fulfilled.” As an MK, I would define it as “the warm taste of the past lingering on my tongue, the sweet sounds of yester-place ringing in my ear, the soft homeness of a lost universe whispering in my heart.” [...]
I don’t know how to begin. I wish there were a word to describe the shift of a universe at the exit of a kindred soul. I just went diving into my paper-recycle bag, frantic to find the card I received two days ago, blinded by tears I can’t seem to stem. And there [...]
[NOTE: To subscribe, send an email to michelesblog@gmail.com and write "Subscribe" in the subject line.] May I introduce you to a friend of mine? Eva is a beautiful young woman who grew up in Kyrgyzstan. When she was 9, her family moved to Germany, then made a major (and permanent) move to the States a [...]
[NOTE: To subscribe, send an email to michelesblog@gmail.com and write "Subscribe" in the subject line.] I was having a lightning-fast lunch on the grass of Wheaton College’s quad last week when a friend reminded me about gratitude. It was a timely knock upside the head, as I’ve allowed the decisions I’m having to make these [...]
[NOTE: To subscribe, send an email to michelesblog@gmail.com and write "Subscribe" in the subject line.] There’s a French expression that doesn’t quite translate into English: “like a hair on soup.” You’re having coffee in Starbucks and enjoying the alone-time when someone you vaguely know intrudes on your peace and quiet…like a hair on [...]
[NOTE: To subscribe, send an email to michelesblog@gmail.com and write "Subscribe" in the subject line.] (See the end of the post for news on Brian’s disappearance.) I’ve been home-shopping. Not apartment-shopping. Home-shopping. As in “I own this place.” After 19 years throwing money out the window every month by renting an apartment in Germany, [...]
[NOTE: To subscribe, send an email to michelesblog@gmail.com and write "Subscribe" in the subject line.] [Don't worry--this isn't a Whitney Houston tribute...] It was 1988. I was house-sitting with my college roommate somewhere in Wheaton. She’d gone off to class, and I was eating cereal with an eye on the television. MTV was fairly [...]
[NOTE: To subscribe, send an email to michelesblog@gmail.com and write "Subscribe" in the subject line.] I’m a student again. When I finished my course work at Wheaton back in 1989, I swore (SWORE!) that I would never enter a classroom again. Imagine my surprise, last month, to find myself preparing for my first [...]
[NOTE: To subscribe, send an email to michelesblog@gmail.com and write "Subscribe" in the subject line.] Have you ever sat in church listening to that traditional Opening Illustration and wondered how the pastor ever found a story to support an obscure theological point? I think there must be a website somewhere in which Shepherds of the [...]
[NOTE: To subscribe, send an email to michelesblog@gmail.com and write "Subscribe" in the subject line.] Given some of the vitriolic responses I’ve had to previous articles, you’d think my chief New Year’s Resolution for 2012 would be to write on less controversial topics. One reader responded to Holy Hypocrisy by essentially calling me [...]