Content by Debra Brown
The Tree Hugger
The Unlikely Messenger: A Slice of Life with Debra Brown See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” – Isaiah 43:19. (NIV) I’ll admit it. I’m a tree hugger. Not in the chaining-myself-to-a-redwood sense, but in the stop-and-admire-a-beautiful-oak kind of way. For years, several large trees lined part of my neighborhood walking route. They provided shade on hot summer mornings and homes for countless birds and squirrels. Their towering branches draped with…
Lucky’s Refuge
The Unlikely Messenger: A Slice of Life with Debra Brown Trauma had left the black dog on high alert. Someone pushed him out of a truck, dumping him like trash at the Coastal Georgia marina development where I worked. They sped away, dust swirling, without a backward glance. He trembled at the river’s edge, where the dark, sticky pluff mud lay exposed at low tide, filling the air with its tangy marsh smell. Gray showed in his muzzle. He moved…
Toby’s Timing
The Unlikely Messenger: A Slice of Life with Debra Brown A distress call shattered the calm of a work meeting with my daughter, Meredith, and our business partner, Jessica. A neighbor’s threat to harm a stray cat on her porch prompted Jessica’s mom to call and plead for help. The words, “stomp a cat to death,” hung in the air. I knew we had to act. Before I could think twice, I blurted out, “We’ll take him.” As the words…
A Ripple of Fear
The Unlikely Messenger: A Slice of Life with Debra Brown I’d arrived late for my walk after a Savannah doctor appointment. The summer sun still had hours before sinking in the sky. But arriving so late, with no one else around, unsettled me. I texted my friend Joyce, “I’m at Bryant Commons.” She’d started the safety habit by teasing, “If there’s a crime, we’ll know where to start.” She’d let me know if she’d arrived at a realtor listing alone.…
When You Find Yourself Down Under
The Unlikely Messenger: A Slice of Life with Debra Brown In 1997, my husband Allen, our young daughter Meredith, and I traded our usual summer beach vacation for a Memorial Day getaway to a ski resort in the Utah mountains. It had been a challenging year, and we needed a change of scenery. I’d envisioned hiking, shopping, and cool mountain air, not snow. But frigid air welcomed us, and snow blanketed the ground. We hadn’t packed for it, so we…
After Blackberry Winter
The Unlikely Messenger: A Slice of Life with Debra Brown Sunlight streamed through the trees as I walked up the driveway. Birdsong and squirrel chatter filled the air, and somewhere nearby a woodpecker tapped a steady rat-a-tat against the old live oak. It should have been the kind of morning that lifted my spirits. But it didn’t. Every April, I feel the urge to plant flowers. It’s almost instinctive. The moment the weather softens and the days stretch longer, I…
Shamrocks in the Closet
The Unlikely Messenger: A Slice of Life with Debra Brown We’d circled St. Patrick’s Day on the 2007 calendar months ago, long before pink and white azaleas bloomed around city squares and yellow pollen dusted everything. Instead, our own shamrocks in the closet changed everything. It happened because a little black cat showed up outside our door the previous December. She shivered in the damp coastal cold, her fur no match for the wind. She fit in two hands at…
More Than Roses
The Unlikely Messenger: A Slice of Life with Debra Brown Valentine’s Day used to sting a little, even though I was married to a good man. Allen wasn’t unkind, but he didn’t “do” holidays. I smiled when my co-worker received flowers at the office, their scent drifting across her desk. I admired my friend’s necklace and even sampled a chocolate from someone’s fancy box. But then I’d go home to a quiet house and a husband who ignored roses, candy,…
How About That Hair!?
The Unlikely Messenger: A Slice of Life with Debra Brown Peace lasted three aisles after I handed 4-year-old Meredith the candy cane from my purse to keep her occupied, while we shopped at Kmart on the cold January day. Near housewares, past after-Christmas sales items and new Valentine’s Day displays, Meredith’s candy-cane-crunching screeched to a halt. Her eyes widened. Her mouth dropped open. I followed her gaze. Oh, no. A woman strutted toward us in a short red dress, my…
Silent Night
The Unlikely Messenger: A Slice of Life with Debra Brown Beep. “What was that?” I waited. Allen yawned. “I didn’t hear anything.” I shrugged and went on with my bedtime routine. It had been a full December day, early in our marriage. Back then, the Christmas parade rolled through town in the morning, so we bundled up and waved as marching bands, floats, and Santa himself rolled down Main Street. After dark, we lingered over dinner with friends, laughter spilling like…
When the Table Shrinks
The Unlikely Messenger: A Slice of Life with Debra Brown The sun cast a warm glow over the Georgia coast as we gathered for the Brown Thanksgiving, but I felt a tug of sadness. The “off year” meant Meredith and Jordan were spending the holiday with his family in San Antonio. I missed them already. “Maybe they’ll be with us next year,” Allen said, mirroring my thoughts as he held the door open for me. Beyond the windows, the river…
Full-Size Moments
The Unlikely Messenger: A Slice of Life with Debra Brown Give, and it will be given to you… For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” – Luke 6:38 (NIV). Spanish moss rustled in the oaks. A few red and gold vine leaves glowed against the October sky. I checked the pumpkins waiting to be carved and sighed. Most years, I couldn’t wait for Halloween night, with the porch lit, cider simmering, and a candy bowl…