by Jessica Bolyard | Jul 11, 2017 | Faith
She sat on the crinkly exam room paper, her eight-year-old body tiny on the table meant for adults more than twice her size. Her paper gown the nurse had given her was bunched around her neck, her shoulders were hunched, and her big, brown eyes were round with...
by Jessica Bolyard | Jun 23, 2017 | Faith
It’s that time of year again, and some days it’s almost enough to make me log off social media for good. Sometimes it’s just not great for my soul. I tap open Instagram to see what’s going on, and there it is. Every day, it’s the same...
by Jessica Bolyard | Jun 19, 2017 | Faith
I was walking across our back yard the other day, our outdoor cats weaving around my ankles, when I stopped in my tracks. (The cats were very confused.) Out of nowhere, I was powerfully struck by what I saw happening around me in nature. It’s happened many times...
by Jessica Bolyard | Jun 13, 2017 | Fellowship
At the restaurant, we laughed until our sides hurt and tears streamed down our faces. It wasn’t until I was driving home later, tears streaming down my face yet again, that I realized exactly what had been happening in that moment. I was having dessert with two...
by Jessica Bolyard | Jun 5, 2017 | Family
Last year, as my little girl finished up her year in first grade, I had a realization that I probably should have had earlier. As a kid grows up, the parents are learning almost just as much as they are. Because as it turns out, if she’s never had a year in...
by Jessica Bolyard | May 23, 2017 | Faith
I was tucking her into bed on a Sunday night when her lip started to quiver and I saw that look in her eye. I almost did what I always seem to do when these things come up at bedtime, especially: I wanted to divert her attention to something else. I wanted her to...
by Jessica Bolyard | May 15, 2017 | Faith
A week or so ago my daughter and I took a road trip with my dad. We traveled the (longer than I remembered) trip to Alabama for the homecoming celebration of a tiny country church my great-great-great-great grandparents planted in 1835. It was an incredible trip, full...
by Jessica Bolyard | May 9, 2017 | Faith
I squinted as I drove, dodging the angled rays of the sun as it shone between the visor and the steering wheel. This is the worst time of day to drive, I thought. The absolute worst. I can’t wait to get home. And how could I be so dumb to leave my sunglasses on...
by Jessica Bolyard | May 2, 2017 | Fellowship
I wish I could say that I’ve always been interested in Jesus. That would be dishonest, though. And if I really think about it, my years of disinterest in all things True actually – in a very real way – made me who I am today. People say that sometimes – that we’re...
by Jessica Bolyard | Apr 25, 2017 | Family
It was my fifth trip to Belize before I ever really understood why I was there. Traveling with my church mission team, I knew the purpose of our trips: to work alongside our sister church in the capital city to reinforce the work they are already doing. That meant we...
