Cathy L. Grant

Cathy L. Grant

Ordinary People

I am not referring to the 1980 film, Ordinary People with Mary Tyler Moore. That movie was a depiction of an upper middle-class family, led by a prosperous tax-attorney, whose well-groomed house with its ample square footage, in an upscale…

A Week to Remember

Jeremiah 29:11 is cited often as a message of encouragement. Sadly, many people memorize this tender verse in isolation. It is important to view the passage in its historical context to understand it accurately. The prophet Jeremiah is addressing the…

Classroom Inspirations

It was a warm, breezy evening in Glendale, Arizona. I had just completed another lecture in a course, “American Intellectual History,” as an adjunct instructor at ASU West, on the other side of the sprawling Phoenix area that stretched from…

The Burdened Nightingale

The sanctuary was hushed with expectancy. The lights were low; a tall Christmas tree stood in the shadows. The orchestra began the moving overture of Handel’s Messiah. The choir stood at the conductor’s direction. Well into the oratorio, a small,…

Late Night Browsing

The hour was late, easily after midnight, and I had just gone to bed. I made myself comfortable with propped up pillows as I was not quite ready for sleep. Suddenly, a name popped out of my past: a former…

Under Care

I was attending an old Presbyterian church in a busy southwestern city. I had completed an M.Div. (Master of Divinity) degree years before. That degree grants its recipients entry to the pastorate. I was not yet on that road—rather standing…