Nicole T. Walters

  • About
    • Meet Nicole
    • Disclosure
  • Writing
  • Listen. Learn. Love.
  • Publications and Media
  • Books & Magazine
  • Contact
  • Home

Remembrance 2

September 15, 2020 Listening to God:

The Spiritual Practice of Remembering. for the Mudroom.

Maybe it’s the desperate hope that somehow the tide of the pandemic will finally turn and we’ll see a return to some semblance of the life we knew before. But I’ve been feeling the need to mark the days lately, to remember. 

As summer unofficially ended in the U.S. with Labor Day, I noticed something strange in the air. Lately, each passing day has felt like another bead on the string of weeks woven together in this unending loop we’re in. We’ve rounded this corner half a dozen times now as we mark six months of pandemic life.

As the days have blurred together, we’ve had to be intentional to find things to make important days stand out. We didn’t plan to commemorate Labor Day in any sense. I needed to write, so I stole a few moments away at a nearby lake. I enjoyed the silence of nature but noticed the noise as well: families laughing, children screaming, dogs barking. Many had come out to enjoy the last day of summer.

While picnic blankets were spread farther apart than previous years and masks reminded us of what we’ve lost in recent days, the rhythmic beating of shallow waves against the rocks reminded me of what stays the same. I realized we can still hold onto those things if we’ll stop to notice them.

I stopped writing and called to tell my husband and kids to get ready. We needed to observe this day together. We needed to remember in hope...

 

mudroomiconsmall

CONTINUE READING AT THE MUDROOM

May 9, 2019 Diversity and global voices, International life, Noticing (Everyday life)

My Stones of Remembrance. For SheLoves Magazine.

For someone with a love of simplicity and order, I own an excessive amount of trinkets. A few weeks before our departure from South Asia, I packed some of them in a suitcase to send back with a friend returning to the United States. I lovingly wrapped the items as I pondered the most important things to go first.

In went a wooden Coptic cross from the church we attended while living in Egypt. I settled it next to an olivewood communion cup that once held juice outside the garden tomb in Jerusalem. They nestled next to the green, white, black, and red prayer beads secretly pressed into my hand by a Palestinian in Jericho when I spoke to him in broken Arabic, asking about his nation and his faith.

These items have lived on my dresser in Bangladesh, reminding me of the places that have made indelible marks on my life. They will return to a curio cabinet in America next to items that might be  worthless in the eyes of others—things like sea shells from the island we visit every year with our closest friends, stones dug out of the Red Sea, a scrap of silk hand embroidered by a friend living in the largest slum in Asia.

My kids placed the beginning of their collections inside the bag as well: a bronze tiger for my son, a little wire rickshaw for my daughter. These things will sit collecting dust on dressers for years to come, surely. But they will also serve as a reminder of the land my children called home for part of their childhood.

This place will make a mark on them they won’t be able to name for years to come. One day, though, they will want to remember. They will need to understand why the smell of ginger and garlic paste simmering in a pan stirs something deep inside their hearts, something they can’t quite place.

When my friend told me the suitcase full of “souvenirs” went missing in transit—lost somewhere in Istanbul—I held back the tears and held my breath. Thankfully, a few days later, I learned it had safely arrived. They are just things, I know, but they are irreplaceable to me, because of the places and the stories they represent...

sheloves

CONTINUE READING AT SHELOVES MAGAZINE

SUBSCRIBE
Want new blog posts slipped into your inbox? Subscribe and get the latest!
Featured On:
Fathom
CT Women
incourage
Everbloom
Red Letter Christians
Relevant Magazine
SheLoves Magazine: a global community of women who love
The Mudroom
Ready
Search this Site
Recent Posts
  • The Mathematics of Life
  • Disturb Us, O Lord
  • Courage and Grit: The Story of Rickshaw Girl
  • Taking the Risk of Living My Own Life
  • Onward
Recent Comments
  • Eli on Courage and Grit: The Story of Rickshaw Girl
  • Donny on Courage and Grit: The Story of Rickshaw Girl
  • Agueda on Courage and Grit: The Story of Rickshaw Girl
  • Lora on Courage and Grit: The Story of Rickshaw Girl
  • Graciela on Courage and Grit: The Story of Rickshaw Girl
Archives
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
Recent Posts
  • The Mathematics of Life
  • Disturb Us, O Lord
  • Courage and Grit: The Story of Rickshaw Girl
  • Taking the Risk of Living My Own Life
  • Onward
  • Looking for the Perfect Fit
2023 © Nicole T. Walters
Squirrel theme by SavvyThemes