By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer We hear it a lot, don’t we? The cloaked condemnation that demands we “Be grateful,” for “things could be worse,” and we “have it better than most.” Some of us find it hard to swallow this Thanksgiving side-dish because we’ve filled ourselves on “But Why”
Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer About this time every year, an unusual looking fruit appears in the produce section of the supermarket, one that I first sampled at my grandparents’ farm in California: Pomegranates. The only attractive thing about a pomegranate is its exquisite garnet color. Beyond that, the round,
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer “In everything give thanks.” Those ancient words are a tall order this year. Resentment tries to wedge in between them, dragging in excuses, arguments, and reasons for why we really don’t have to be thankful for everything. Maybe not anything. After all, this was
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer We hear it a lot: “Be grateful.” Other renditions suggest, “Things could be worse.” “You have it better than most.” The Christian-ese phrase I’ve known since childhood says, “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” (I
By Davalynn Spencer @davalynnspencer Every year my little patch of prickly pear cactus blooms with the most delicate yellow flowers—a flaring contradiction to the plant’s spiny pins growing in protective clusters. Overshadowing the cactus patch on its east side stands a magnificent Colorado blue spruce with its