By Marianne Wood I can’t get past Easter. Some say you should never, ever. And I agree with them more this year, thanks to a dozen or so visual artists who dared to share what God revealed to them. This year I enjoyed Easter installations at home and away. At home, another Holy Week envisioned by artists at my church
Read moreBy Marianne Wood Santi Yurrita serves as our Missions Minister at The Well. I ran into him one Sunday morning last year, and like many who knew about our recent loss, he suggested a book to read. But the title is somewhat disturbing. “You’re recommending a book with despair in the title to a grieving mother? Seriously?” That is not
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Editor’s Note: March is Women’s History Month and Spirit of Abilene will be highlighting women who have made a difference in the lives of others. To honor someone, send her name, photo, and reason for the honor to editor@spiritofabilene.com By Marianne Wood She handed me a pecan and said, “I believe it’s the best. It’s from the house on the
Read moreBy Marianne Wood About a year ago, on my way home from Philadelphia bearing a freshly broken wrist encased in a huge splint, I sat down at a bar in the wrong terminal. The menu had attracted me, not the hope of wine or spirits, but the truth I found in this experience is worth telling: God sees us. He
Read moreBy Marianne Wood Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, and Valentine’s Day, the start of another day of sweet gratification, begin on the same day this year. Is there a Greg playing a trick on us…a ploy by a calendar miscreant? For the faithful, one must choose a path to indulgence or piety. What to do! Shall we count this
Read moreBy Marianne Wood I learned to sail on Lytle Lake and later Lake Brownwood as a teen. I’m not good at it, though my husband has the knack. He recently used a practical sailing term, “coming about,” to describe our pivot in life due to a great loss. His comment got me thinking about “abouts.” “About that time Caesar Augustus
Read moreBy Marianne Wood My friend, Sue Wood (no relation), has lived on three continents in four countries: Eurasia—England and India; Africa—South Africa; North America—the USA. She met her husband, Owen, at a party arranged by a friend while she was living in Cape Town. Before that, she grew up in the UK, where her father was a chemist—what we call
Read moreBy Marianne Wood Perhaps you need a Dammit Doll. I discovered that I did one day while at an appointment with my daughter about one year ago. The doll provides good therapy. On visiting a new physical therapist who turned out to be a-mazing, my daughter and I noticed a brightly-colored stuffed figure at the reception desk. Boldly emblazoned on
Read moreBy Marianne Wood Someday I hope to write more about growing up with Dick and Jane in the 1960s and ’70s. Aren’t they characters in a young readers’ series back in the “duck and cover” age? Why, yes, they are. Our mother taught primary-age children, so my siblings are aptly named. She also studied French and naturally liked one of
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