writing in the margins of life
When my sister-in-law got married a little over a year ago, I was honored to say a few words at the reception as the matron of honor. I chose to read a verse from Samuel Rutherford's hymn The Sands of Time Are Sinking as it has shaped my view of marriage possibly more than anything [...]
I sat on the playground once with a co-worker of mine while her kids played on the swings. It was the last work day of the school year and we’d just finished cleaning out our classrooms before summer vacation. I watched her son swing back and forth and her daughter dance around in the spray [...]
I’ve struggled to know how to put pen to paper (theoretically) after a year’s absence. There are so many things I want to say. However, one of the key things I’ve learned this last year is there is a time and place for things, and I’m not certain public writing is the place for all [...]
“It’s raining. Do you really still want to go?” I asked my husband as I made a quick cup of coffee and pulled my socks on. He turned, his optimistic smile ever present, lifted the umbrella in his hand and nodded. It was dark and early on Easter morning. We were gathering our things to [...]
It was my brother’s birthday and we were out shopping at TJ Maxx. I was done and wandering the aisles while he finished looking through the discounted sweatshirts. I meandered through the shoes, the athletic wear, and then came to the baby section. Why am I here? I wondered to myself and contemplated skipping it, [...]
The sky outside is gray and the air has turned cold. I can hear the whirring of my washing machine as it spins and sloshes the load of sheets inside. I can smell the blend of spices from my kitchen where the crock-pot slowly cooks soup that will be lunch in the coming days for [...]
I held her in my arms as my blouse absorbed her tears. Her little hands were clasped together behind my neck. I felt her exhale, then relax. Her crying ceased at last. I wanted to take all of the pain in her little heart and carry it myself. I wanted to somehow cry the tears [...]
‘Till your life reaches fullness, The LORD be your Shepherd; And to His lovingkindness May you e’er be tethered. When you’re tempted to wander And seek earthly pleasures, My dear, look to your Father The fount of all treasure. When you’re weary from striving Look for solace no more, In green pastures abiding The sheep’s [...]
It is Wednesday morning and I should be at work right now. Forty minutes away from me my classroom is full of seven students and a substitute teacher in my place. Where am I? At home, seated at my dining table. The window behind me is open and the first of this year’s spring breezes [...]
It was early. I wished with everyone fiber of my being that I was back home in my bed instead of in my cold car with a piercing headache driving to work. I adjusted the volume of the music playing, shivered, and looked ahead down the road. The sky was black. A few moments later [...]
Madelyn Istrate 