Author: jywatkins
-
Marriage: When Everything Feels Hard
Chad and I have been married for eleven years. There have been easy years and there have been hard ones. There have been years with many changes, losses, or achievements. There have been years that were more ordinary, our time filled with work and weekends together and household chores. Some years look very much like…
-
A Couple Resources for Anti-Racism
This is not the time for my voice and my feelings, other than to say, I am grieved by and ashamed of the racial injustices that just keep happening in our country. There is a lot of work for us to do to bring about meaningful and lasting change, both on an individual level and…
-
Where’s the Pause Button?
I could have used a Pause button so many times this year. It’s been a hard one so far. There have been many moments where my brain can’t think of anything except, “Stop!” Stop the hospital visits. Stop the cancer. Stop the fear and anxiety and grief. Stop the contagion. Stop the kids growing up.…
-
How Do I Grieve You, Sister?
We lost my older sister to cancer in February, which now seems like a different time altogether. It is surreal to live without her. It feels like these three months have flown by — how have we gone on for so long without her here? And yet, because of the current circumstances, it also feels…
-
Psalm 8: Glory in Smallness
This is the eighth post about the Psalms in a series I started several years ago. It’s taking me a lot of time, but I’m going through each Psalm as a way of coming back to the Bible. Thanks for reading as I pick the series back up again. 1 Lord, our Lord, how majestic…
-
Babies of the Pandemic
My almost-six-month-old daughter can sit up independently now. She rocks her bouncy saucer so hard we sometimes think she’s going to tip it, or give her herself a head injury. She’s got two teeth and has started solid foods of vegetable purees. None of this was true before we began to shelter in place, which…
-
Psalm 7: Decree Justice
This is the seventh post about the Psalms in a series I started several years ago. It’s taking me a lot of time, but I’m going through each Psalm as a way of coming back to the Bible. Thanks for reading as I pick the series back up again. 1 Lord my God, I take…
-
Baby Prayers
I opened my eyes and about six inches in front of me was my little five-month-old girl, resting on her side, eyes closed, mouth slightly open as she gently breathed in and out. Both her arms were outstretched in front of her, her little hands folded onto each other. It looked like she was saying…
-
Parenting in a Pandemic
Day 41 of our shelter-at-home was a rough one. Honestly, every day at home with two babies under the age of two has its hard moments. That particular day felt hard overall, moment to moment. Even in the good moments, when the kids were behaving and being adorable, a part of me was still struggling.…
-
Marriage: An Exercise in Sustaining
This weekend, Chad and I are celebrating ten years of marriage. Ten years. I don’t take that for granted. I know the last ten years of my life (fourteen including our dating years) have been so much sweeter, richer, and fuller because I’ve had Chad by my side. I don’t doubt that for one second.…
jamie y. watkins 