Spring · May
from a small garden south of Salt Lake
Family discipleship, honest motherhood, and the slow work of making a home, written at the kitchen table by Melissa Whitaker.
Lately on the kitchen table
read more →May 13
May 13
May 13
A note from Melissa
LDS Family Life is a publication about LDS family life, motherhood, marriage, homemaking, and practical gospel living for families who want faith at home to feel lived instead of staged. I write first-person essays on family discipleship, spiritual formation in ordinary routines, and the pressures families are trying to carry with steadiness and grace.
The sink full of mixing bowls. The garden row that finally came up. The child calling for one more glass of water. The prayer I whisper while scraping plates after dinner. Those are the things that hold a family, and they feel worth writing down before they slip past.
with love, Melissa
Essays
May 13
I heard a sigh from my middle schooler when I announced scripture study. I closed the book and asked about his day. Connection matters more.
May 13
There was a sticky hand pulling at my dress while I answered the door. I said, "Come in. We are living in here." Small-scale hospitality is about being real.
May 13
There is a pair of outgrown shoes by the back door I cannot throw away. The middle years of motherhood require a resilience I did not know I needed.
May 13
The kitchen table was finally clear. The homework was put away. I lit a candle and sat down. The week was ending and the Sabbath was approaching.
May 12
My daughter stared at a ladybug and asked where God keeps them at night. I said I did not know. Permission to wonder matters more than facts.
May 12
I turned off the overhead light and switched on the lamp. I lit a candle. The children drifted in. The week was ending and the Sabbath was approaching.
May 12
There is a tiny mismatched sock on my hallway floor. It is evidence of a life being lived. The small things are the important things.
May 12
I wiped the kitchen table for the thousandth time. The sponge made its familiar sound. I am learning to see the repetition not as a burden but as a blessing.
May 11
The smoke alarm went off during dinner. I stood with a burnt spatula wondering how I ruined grilled cheese. Not a magazine cover. A real moment.
May 11
A single ray of sunlight landed on the kitchen table, right in the middle of a sticky ring. Beauty hiding in plain sight.
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