I’m watching a friend’s little girl. She’s two, almost three, and she calls me Mommy. Which would make me feel special but she calls all grown women Mommy. So…

Still, watching Bettie and being called Mommy feels good and right, because Bettie is my family, my daughter (in a way), and Laura, her mom, is the intensely compassionate sister I never had but do. 

Church family is real family. It’s not second to blood. Laura and I are blood, washed in the very same red blood cells and white. 

JL Gerhardt