by Merita Atherly Engen | Jul 14, 2016 | Giver, God of Our Ultimates, Grief, Points of Light, Relationships, Shining on God's Character, Survival
“They need help unloading a trailer of food.” The coordinator at the flood response crisis center handed me, my husband, and a local friend a work order. “It’s a church, or what used to be.” She shook her head of gray hair as she turned to the next group of...
by Merita Atherly Engen | Jul 5, 2016 | Belonging, God of Our Ultimates, Points of Light, Survival
In Cades Cove, a white clapboard church stands protected by the Park Service of the United States of America and by the mountains of East Tennessee. Dedicated to worship for all ‘time and eternity,’ it has been sandwiched between a single lane road and a...
by Merita Atherly Engen | Jun 23, 2016 | Failings, Forgiving, Gentle, God of Our Ultimates, Grief, In Sickness, Loving, Patient, Points of Light, Shining on God's Character
Entering my trashed apartment was like entering a mind diseased. Your whole head is injured Carpet blanketed in filth – Kitchen sink smeared with a brown film – Your whole heart afflicted. Food rotting in the refrigerator – Windows broken – From the sole of your foot...
by Merita Atherly Engen | Jun 14, 2016 | Creative, God of Our Ultimates, Grief, Points of Light, Relationships, Shining on God's Character
https://meritaatherlyengen.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Womb-of-the-Wind-Penpoints-of-Light-—-WordPress.mp4 Heartache abounds. Slow and insidious or sudden and gut-wrenching While the wind roars its violence. Depression debilitates. Dark cloud suffocating heart and...
by Merita Atherly Engen | Sep 10, 2015 | God of Our Ultimates, Good, Points of Light, Protector, Relationships, Shining on God's Character, Survival
Two weekends ago the weather was good for flying. Not perfect. A layer of haze, hot and moist, hung in the late summer sky, but visibility was good. My husband, Bruce, eager to get behind the controls, began his pre-flight check. I stepped onto the wing, slid into my...
by Merita Atherly Engen | May 29, 2015 | Fatherly, God of Our Ultimates, Identity, Motherly, Points of Light, Saving, Shining on God's Character
A little box of baby things are tucked away wrapped in plastic, safe in a drawer. Whenever I open that drawer, I imagine a mother crocheting a blue sweater and booties, fashioning a delicate crocheted cap, and hand stitching simple flannel socks. I thumb through...
by Merita Atherly Engen | Apr 30, 2015 | Death, God of Our Ultimates, Points of Light, Protector, Shining on God's Character
“Momma, I want to sleep in your room with you and Daddy.” Of course. He needed closeness. But how close was too close? Death was near but unpredictable. Would he suffer from overexposure? He was only eight and he needed to be protected. At such an impressionable age,...
by Merita Atherly Engen | Apr 3, 2015 | Fatherly, Points of Light, Shining on God's Character
Sharp pain stabbed Mei’s arm and radiated throughout her tense, twelve-year-old body. Her whimper, barely heard beyond the curtains drawn around her bed, elicited a comforting pat from her mother. Skiing the snowy slopes had been fun until this. The emergency room...
by Merita Atherly Engen | Jan 16, 2015 | Loving, Shining on God's Character
“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” — Jesus “Why can’t you be like other girls? They don’t ride bicycles like a boy. And your hair...
by Merita Atherly Engen | Dec 11, 2014 | Fatherly, God of Our Ultimates, Loving, Motherly, Points of Light, Salvation, Shining on God's Character
Five-year-old Caleb came into the bedroom first thing one morning clutching his money box. He wanted to show me that he could buy the toy of his dreams. “You know, Momma, the one where the car goes ’round and ’round.” Yes, I knew. The one we had told him he would have...
