Taryn R. Hutchison's Blog: The Glorious Muddle, page 9

No Room … at the Halfway House

I’m sure you know the story. A young, poor couple, the girl pregnant yet a virgin, traveling on their way to register for a census. The days were completed.  The time had come for the baby–announced by an angel and prophesied long before–to be born. They couldn’t find housing, so she gave birth in a […]

Into a Dark World, Light

December is a month of waiting. If you’re young, you wait for Santa to come. If you’re a sun-seeker, you wait for the days to grow longer again. If you’re a Christ-follower, you wait for the coming (the advent) of the Christ child. While you wait, you are anything but passive. You don’t sit, bored, […]

I Could Have Done More

Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, of The Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, spoke words that pierced me. He said: “I could only save some. The people in the back of the sanctuary, I could not save. I carry that regret with me and I will the rest of my life, that I could have done more, […]

Use Your Imagination

In 1929, Albert Einstein was asked by a Saturday Evening Post interviewer if he trusted more in imagination or knowledge. Einstein said, “I am enough of the artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” Children seem to be born with vivid imaginations […]

Calling Yourself a Writer

I took my first tentative steps on shaky legs one year ago. That’s when I quit my less-than-fulfilling full-time job (no, I did not retire) and started cobbling together part-time writing gigs. My job title on social media had to change. So, what should I call myself? Adjunct college instructor? I taught one class (my […]

Learning Gratitude from Other Cultures

Today, my article about learning gratitude is featured in The Redbud Post‘s issue on learning from other cultures. You can read the article here. I recount one of my memories from my time in Romania that is dearest to my heart. Taryn R. Hutchison, Writer writes, “I’ve learned that all people are the same. Everyone […]

The Call of Home

I’ve lived a lot of places. Each time, I’ve come as an outsider and had to shoulder my way in. Each time, I’ve found people to love, reasons to like the place, but always, I remained Other. Never one of Them. There is only one place in the world where I am one of Them. […]

10th Birthday Lollapalooza!

Let’s have a party! A lollapalooza fit for a ten-year-old! Who is turning ten, you may ask? If you guess my oldest grandchild, you’re right. But there’s more. When Lucy was just a few days old, my own baby–not quite as cute–was born. After many excruciating months of waiting, We Wait You finally saw the […]

The Best Part of a Trip

Many people claim the best part of a trip is coming home. But not me, not until recently. I love the going, the being someplace new. Maybe I never really felt at home anywhere. I had my wings and I loved spreading them. My rootless life suited me just fine. A few years in this […]

Accepting the Rain

For 19 days in a row, it rained. Daily. I’ve been over it for about 18 days. But now, the sun is smiling and the humidity is low, so I can write about accepting the less than desirable days. My metaphorical rainy season is also tapering off. Three months after Steve’s surgery in a snowstorm […]