by Michelle Ruddell | devotional
It sneaks up on me every year. There’s a cloud that rolls over my soul right around Thanksgiving. It usually blows in with the first wintery weather. The first few years I was ready. Around the middle of November I would steel myself against the feelings I knew were...
by Michelle Ruddell | devotional
The ping from my phone startled me. My Sunday afternoon nap had stretched into evening.”Are you ignoring me? LOL” read the Facebook message from my daughter.The dreaded words searching for service were at the top of the screen. My signal indicator...
by Michelle Ruddell | devotional
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” The Christmas season was beginning, and my heart was torn. The first real Christmas without my son Matthew would also be the first for my six-month old daughter Missy. Part of me wanted to hide from...
by Michelle Ruddell | devotional, Teacher Life
I fought back tears as I stepped into the hallway. I would NOT let them see me cry. These high school students were having a field day with me, the new teacher. It was my first year in a traditional classroom. It was not their first time testing limits. The classroom...
by Michelle Ruddell | devotional
In a sideways glance I saw it. A man took his suit jacket and gently placed it around his wife’s shoulders. It was such a sweet gesture. I smiled for a second and then it hit me. I was hit by a sneak attack of “poor me.” ...
by Michelle Ruddell | devotional
My thumb is definitely not green. You won’t find beautiful flowers or lush greenery in my house or in my yard. I do, however, have a plant in my living room that has managed to survive for almost fifteen years. This hearty schefflera was given to me by my...