Collette Broady Grund

In the four months since Marrett’s death, there have been a few moments of what Jaamil Kosoko calls “post-traumatic enlightenment”.  The things that Marrett taught me have coalesced in important ways that are giving new shape to the way I carry him with me moving forward. My understanding of the afterlife is undergoing a complete […]

The most misused wedding text in the bible is 1 Corinthians 13, but Ruth’s speech to Naomi from this morning’s reading has to be a close second. Perhaps you know the song based on this speech, Entreat Me Not To Leave You, which has been sung at many weddings. Now, don’t get me wrong, these […]

Today it would have been five. It should have been five. This year, more than any of the other four, we worked our marriage hard. Because we’d been under so much stress with my work and his career change, with family situations, and with a recurrent conflict between us, we started a marriage enrichment book […]

A conversation I had with myself on the way out of therapy today (3 pm): Me: I’m exhausted. I have an hour before I have to pick up kids. I should do something nice for myself, like rest. Or eat. Wait, when was the last time I ate? Breakfast? Other Me: But you said you’d […]

A sermon on Hebrews chapter 11   (read the biblical text here) Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. I stand before you as one who has very little assurance or conviction this morning, but I stand here nonetheless. It is faith which allows me to get up here […]

Cause of Death: Immediate, Hypertensive Cardiovascular Disease Other Contributing Conditions: Hepatomegaly, Hepatic Steatosis Monday morning, the death certificates arrived at the funeral home, the signal I’d been waiting for to say the toxicology report was finished and the autopsy officially complete. I talked to the medical examiner Monday afternoon. He seemed as shocked as I was […]

I entered the church building yesterday for the first time since the funeral: to test it out, to see what it would feel like, to know whether I can actually go back to work next week as I have planned. On the one hand, it felt bad to be there, partly because everyone looked so […]

Devotion given this evening at the ELCA Hunger Leadership Gathering, Minneapolis Before I truly begin this devotion, I want to say a word of thanks and a dedication. First, thank you to Robin Brown for inviting me to do this devotion. Robin was an upstairs neighbor of mine at the Lutheran School of Theology in […]

It started with the butterflies. A dozen of them, all sizes, showed up on the front of our house the day Marrett got sick. These butterflies hatch in our neighborhood every year, but usually down the street near a neighbor’s house. But Thursday last, they took up residence at Broady Grund Hollow, alighting on our […]

I lay in the bed I used to share with my husband, the toddler’s tiny form tucked in beside me, listening as her breathing settles into sleep. My eyes are open, but I cannot see, save for the sliver of light coming from the hall. The darkness feels like a metaphor. Marrett’s death is exactly […]