jencoito

Remember the Dance

Second Sunday of Advent The prima ballerina entered from stage right and I felt the pricks of pain in my toe as if it were only yesterday. The silk of the ribbons around my ankles and the gentle friction of the tutu skirt on my legs were as real today as they were a lifetimeContinueContinue reading “Remember the Dance”

Podcast Episode: Loved As You Are

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1vUe2jKnLrUnbPGbdxMgR5 Check out the awesome podcast “Loved As You Are” by fellow Into the Deep writer Gretchen Crowder. I was interviewed a few weeks ago on the topic of “Loved As You Are”… enjoy!

Tasting Courage

This post appeared in a series on “Consolation Beyond a Smile.” Read the whole series on the Into the Deep blog. I am not a very adventurous eater. As a lifelong vegetarian, my options are often limited from the start. In unfamiliar settings I wonder about hidden pork fat and disguised fish sauce …steakhouses andContinueContinue reading “Tasting Courage”

Just a few extras

This post appeared in a series on “The Need is the Call” responding to the question: What if I can’t find a way to use my gifts? When I dump out the 500 pieces of a new puzzle, the colors and shapes all jumble together. All the pieces are there but the picture those piecesContinueContinue reading “Just a few extras”

A Flower That Doesn’t Die

The Passion was not just a symbolic grief this year. We lost my grandmother on Tuesday of Holy Week. Her feisty spirit didn’t always make her the easiest person to get along with. Despite my grudges or issues with her, my children loved her just as she was. Their memories are of the fizzy drinksContinueContinue reading “A Flower That Doesn’t Die”

When It Rains, It Pours

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent “I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.” – Matthew 5:17-18 I surveyed theContinueContinue reading “When It Rains, It Pours”

Failing at Flossing… and Other Exercises in Humility

Wednesday in the Second Week of Lent There are very few degrees of shame that surpass a parent at the pediatric dentist office. Of course we brush twice a day, flossing on the other hand…. I know they need more help but some mornings we barely make it out of the house with both shoesContinueContinue reading “Failing at Flossing… and Other Exercises in Humility”

Warts and All

Thursday in the First Week of Lent “On the day I cried out, you answered; you strengthened my spirit.” Psalm 138:3 “When I wake up in the morning, maybe God will have taken all my warts away.” My six-year-old Clare has had this same prayer for months. Every few days she repeats her hopeful plea,ContinueContinue reading “Warts and All”

Resisting Forgiveness

“I’m holding down the sand!” My daughter stamped down the shifting beach sand with all her might, trying to keep the waves from pulling it away. Her desperate attempts to contain the earth beneath her feet has become an image of my own desire for control. I struggle to analyze and understand, to force clarityContinueContinue reading “Resisting Forgiveness”

Sacred Souvenirs

“Then you shall be radiant at what you see, your heart shall throb and overflow, for the riches of the sea shall be emptied out before you, the wealth of nations shall be brought to you.” Isaiah 60:4-5 I didn’t expect to cry as soon as I pulled into the city limits. I was excitedContinueContinue reading “Sacred Souvenirs”