By Marianne Wood On an early morning flight, I caught this view outside my window. It made me wonder, why do we–God’s creation–spend so much time and effort celebrating the underside of the comfy-looking celestial bed of clouds? And how might we motivate ourselves to look above it more? The answer always seems to be that navel-gazing is normal and

By Marianne Wood As a young child, I often sought refuge in the space below a round coffee table in our living room. This safe-seeming shelter was open on all sides, but I felt practically invisible since the table was low to the ground, about eighteen inches tall. And I must have been inconspicuous and certainly out of the way

By Marianne Wood I’ve been swimming a lot lately. It is good medicine for my heart, mind, and spirit. It allows me to take a break from my phone and transports me to another, more childlike world. While I stroke, kick, and stretch in life’s soft, clear essence, I often practice French vocabulary—particularly those darned irregular verbs. Sometimes, I simply

By Marianne Wood I work for a storyteller who writes about and photographs the people he meets and the places that take his breath away. Since I like stories and pictures a lot, I find my work engaging every day. It is challenging but great fun to work for a storyteller.  There are many authors, painters, photographers, and songwriters that

By Marianne Wood Once upon a time, I pretended to be a pioneer woman named Sallie Reynolds Matthews.  As an educator at The Grace Museum long ago, I was asked to prepare an inspiring activity for young girls based on a local heroine. In my eagerness to know more about this female legend from up the street in Shackelford County,

By Marianne Wood Four and five-year-olds are beginning to fascinate me for the second time. The first occurred during my tenure as a mom. I was captivated then. Now, as a grandmother and occasional church nursery worker, I delight in keenly observing their activities. Here’s why: four and five-year-olds have discovered their legs, language, and love. Recently, I enjoyed getting

By Marianne Wood Maitland: What will you do now? Miss Madrigal: Continue to explore the astonishment of living. Sometimes, a bit of a line in a movie–especially one for which you had low expectations–grabs you surprisingly. It inspires you to be a better person or moves you because it connects with a sore place in your heart. I’ll bet that’s

By Marianne Wood Working for a photographer, I’ve learned some unfamiliar jargon. “A little soft” intrigues me the most, so of course, an investigation followed rumination. Here’s what I have learned and applied from this terminology. First, I consulted “Webster Britannica,” an early marriage nickname for my husband, who has very full mental files on everything from song lyrics to

By Marianne Wood In the summer of 2002, my husband, our two teenage children and I traveled to France. Our daughter, Laurie, had expressed great interest in improving her language skills, so it seemed fitting to spend some time there the summer before her high school graduation. Among the many wonderful experiences we enjoyed were visits to several important sacred