Carol McClain       @carol_mcclain The elders in my daughter’s church handed out rocks. These weren’t pretty, soothing objects like worry rocks or quartz or painted ones with happy messages or water-smoothed pebbles. Each was large enough to hold but oddly shaped and rough. The pastor instructed us to hold the stone throughout the service. Being the obsessively …[ read more ]

Carol McClain      @carol_mcclain Recently, a woman in our congregation faced a possible amputation. Questions arose between doctors about whether she needed such extreme measures. When family, ready for amputation, discovered she didn’t need one, she exploded with the news, “Praise, God, I’m healed.” A month later, the infection roared into life and debilitated her for months. …[ read more ]

Carol McClain     @carol_mcclain Have you ever wondered if your life mattered? If you made a difference. I taught for over thirty years. Never was I nominated as teacher of the year. Maybe once someone put my name in for teacher of the month. Without accolades, life went on. Sometimes I overachieved as an instructor. Sometimes I …[ read more ]

Carol McClain    @carol_mcclain A little boy I know came down with virulent cancer. I, along with many others, prayed intensely. One day God told me he’d be fine. No. I am crazy, but I didn’t hear an audible voice. A sudden change in my psyche took hold. From that day on, my prayers became more sporadic. …[ read more ]

Carol McClain   @carol_mcclain With childlike faith, I decided I would write a novel about a paramedic. I naively researched the profession and assumed I had the correct information. I wasn’t so naive as to think it was perfect. During this time period, I wondered, too, if I was called to write. I belonged to a floundering critique group …[ read more ]