Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

Cinderella Mom

If you think Jesus would have come into your home that day and not issued a strong rebuke to the head of household, you are mistaken. These words of condemnation have been haunting me for days now. They aren’t all that different than the soundtrack I play in my head on an almost-daily basis. It’s…

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This is 40

I am nesting. On Saturday I emptied the refrigerator. Last summer’s homemade pickles in their jars. The bread ends that seem to multiply on every shelf. The eggs. The milk. The fruit and veggies. All of it sat on the floor or the counter as I carefully removed the shelves and wiped them down with…

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Beauty on the Backroads {or Why I Changed the Name of my Blog}

I’ve heard that life is like a highway. And it definitely seems like that sometimes. The pace of life swirls around me at dizzying speeds. We’re all so busy. In such a hurry. Always somewhere to be, something else to do. I’m a get-to-the-point, get-there-quick kind of girl. I don’t like to waste time on…

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Transplant

Day 2.

Today I miss that my husband is the head of our household, especially the spiritual head. While he is gone, it is my responsibility to care for our children’s spiritual needs. Not that I don’t do that at all when he’s around, but it’s up to me to keep up our practices, which is difficult to do when you’re away from home and out of routine.

This morning, I read our family devotions to Isabelle, usually my husband’s job.

“For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.” (Ephesians 5:23)

Before I was married, I thought it would be a lot harder to yield to my husband’s headship because I had been the “head” of my household as a single girl for 7 years. It’s certainly not always easy, but today I realized how much I’ve transitioned into that role.

Spanish doctors recently reported performing a complete face transplant. With my husband separated from the kids and I for a few weeks, I feel like our family has had a head transplant. Fortunately for us, it’s temporary. I’ll be glad to have him back in his God-given role.

21 days of separation

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, so they say. I’m about to find out. My husband and I are on day 1 (really, hour 1, but I didn’t want to sound too pathetic) of a 21-day separation – the kids and I visiting family and friends, he finishing the semester.

Already, I miss him. I’m hoping to journal something I miss about him every day, and while our marriage is nowhere near “on the rocks”, I’m hoping this separation will strengthen our relationship.

Today, I missed that he takes care of car stuff, including car seats and such. Without my dad’s help, transferring car seats might have taken me all day. Installing the headrest mirror took far longer than it should have because I’m usually watching the children while my husband is preparing the car for the children.

I cried when he left but I wanted to be strong, to think that I can handle two kids for three weeks without him, but the truth is I can’t, and I can’t wait for him to come back.