Ann Cooper McCauley

The silhouette of my tiny granddaughter, Aria, toddling down the hallway left a permanent stamp in my head. The Fourth of July, she wore her stars and stripes dress. Her hair, just long enough for a two inch ponytail, bobbed up and down. And with one of her feet turning slightly inward, her trot down […]

Adeline Visiting the Chicks at the Ranch Store    My five-year-old granddaughter, Adeline, and I had a day out on the town. Throughout, she walked up to perfect strangers saying things like, “My name is Adeline and this is my Granna. What’s your name? Oh, what a beautiful name you have. I like your name! […]

    Illusion  #1. You give birth or adopt your children, and when the last child turns 18 or 21 you believe your work is done— the most of it anyway. For the first time in years you have your own life and an assignment from God, a purpose to live out beyond your children. […]

Mama’s gone. Shouldn’t I see heaven open or angels kiss her cheek? The room felt the same. I brushed the back of my hand across her face. Cold. Her hands? Still warm. A single ache arose. “Mama…” Long illnesses take their toll. Weariness numbs. The hospice nurse arrived to declare Mother dead, and the funeral […]

I snuggled closer into Great Granny Adams’ ample bosom, the smell of her body powder tickling my nose. My gaze searched the church sanctuary. So big. Mama’s coppery hair glistened just above the piano lid. I leaned toward Granny Kirksey, my hand swiping the polished dark wood of the pew, and wiggled to her outstretched arms. […]

What to do when things seem to happen and all at once? We moved our son into his apartment on Wednesday three weeks ago.   Shop. Organize. Plan. Crash course in life.   Following this, our family celebrated my husband’s birthday. A huge group, including my mother, gathered and made sweet, happy memories in our home. […]

  “I told you! Clean this room. I’m going to have an aneurism for heaven’s sake!” God, they never listen. I don’t mean to yell all the time, but they won’t change. No matter the reward system—no matter the work of instilling pride in them for what they own and how to take care of […]

My son, seventeen and looking more like man than boy, swerved the family passenger van into Taco Bell’s drive-thru. As the van idled, he glanced down at his Civil Air Patrol uniform and with pride relished his promotion; he’d lead the young band of brothers from now on. The cars ahead of him disappeared around […]

Lulled awake at four in the morning, I pushed to a sitting position. Groggy. What woke me?  I measured my husband’s gentle snore. Out cold. My gaze drifted about the dark room, and I was magnetized to a light in the doorway. How strange—a light with form and definition. I blinked. Still there. A soft, […]

A couple weeks ago my agent told me she was rereading Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive. Familiar with John Eldredge’s book, Wild at Heart, I listened with great interest. Diana told me about the part in his book where John asks the Father to reveal who he is and what […]