Katelyn B. Wilson

“But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.” – Isaiah 64:8 “Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.  And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.”   – Jeremiah 18:3-4 Have you ever seen a building being erected and wondered, “What is that going to be?” Every time my mother passed a construction site, she would say, “I wonder what that is going to be.” The funny thing is, she was not just curious about new buildings going up, but she would even inquire out loud about the future of demolition sites. She would say, “Oh, [this place or that … Read more

When I was a kid, my mom had this thing about us eating anything while she was preparing a meal. She would not let us snack while she was cooking. We could not have dessert before dinner. This applied to both us kids and Dad. She would say, “You’re going to spoil your appetite.” She did not want us to get full off of junk when she would soon put a wholesome meal on the table. As a kid, this really seemed unfair, but as an adult, I understand it more clearly. In retrospect, I understand that my mom wanted to fill me with food that would give me energy and sustenance. When I feast on snack food rather than a meal, I start to feel sluggish and even dirty.   I think sometimes along this life journey, we get a hankering for something and we want it right then and … Read more

This post is going to be more vulnerable than a lot of the blogs I’ve published lately. I usually post every two weeks, but yesterday marked four years since I lost my best friend/mother to sudden death. This year I have experienced flashbacks of that day and all of the horror that it brought. It is really interesting how the brain works. Sometimes these things seem to come from out of nowhere. My family lost the most valuable person in our lives on March 31, 2016. We waited until the next day to put anything about it on social media and thankfully nobody beat us to it. Unfortunately, the next day was April 1st and a lot of people thought it was a bad April Fool’s joke. That would have made a terrible prank, but it would have been better than the reality of the loss.  Death is mean. The … Read more

I missed my post last week because, like most other people, I was caught in the whirlwind of change set in motion by a pandemic. The classes that I teach at UA Little Rock suddenly had to go one-hundred-percent online. Online instruction is not the best way for some classes to be taught successfully and American Sign Language is one of those courses. Plans that I had for my own research projects went awry because my observations were set to take place in the community. That means that I have to rethink both of my projects and I’m more than halfway through the spring semester. If I dwell on it too much, I really start feeling sorry for myself.  While I can complain about the stress that I have been experiencing over the past two weeks, what I am going through pales in comparison when I consider what other people … Read more

I grew up in south Louisiana and I always said there are four seasons: Gumbo, Crawfish, Summer, and Hurricane. I only ever remember leaving for one hurricane when I was a kid and that was Hurricane Andrew. It seems that Andrew took a turn and headed toward the place where we took refuge. After that, I do not remember ever evacuating again.  Last year, my friend and I took a trip to Louisiana to visit my family and friends. On our way home, we took a detour and went through New Orleans to have a look around. During our stay there, the sun was shining and it was HOT, but the day that we were leaving, clouds started to roll in. We decided to head out a few hours early and the rain started pouring down. Driving in Louisiana rain is not an easy task. Sometimes it comes down so … Read more

“She had blue skin and so did he He kept it hid and so did she They searched for blue their whole lives through Then passed right by and never knew.” Shel Silverstein This is one of my favorite poems by Shel Silverstein because it speaks volumes to the masquerade where so many of us find ourselves. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, one definition of masquerade is “an action or appearance that is mere disguise or show.” It is easy to hide hurt behind a smile and physical appearance behind social media. Instead of allowing people to see who we really are, we wear a mask of idealism. “Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.” – Proverbs 31:30 Humans have an innate desire to be “normal” that causes them to go to great lengths to hide their natural self. … Read more

When my heart is overwhelmed And my mind can find no restWhen fear overcomes me And my heart pounds in my chestI look to YouTo You I yield my heart, my mind, my soulI surrender allI’m letting go for You to take control When it seems loneliness overtakes me And my spirit feels disconnectedWhen sorrow has overstayed its welcomeAnd grief lasts longer than expectedI look to YouTo You I yield my heart, my mind, my soulI surrender allI’m letting go for You to take control When I am lost in the whirlwindsAnd I’ve reached a place called hopelessWhen the load I carry is too cumbersomeAnd I find no relief or solaceI look to YouTo You I yield my heart, my mind, my soulI surrender allI’m letting go for You to take control I look to YouThat’s where I find rest, I find hope, I find peaceI relinquish all and look to youYou’re all … Read more

“Rather than grind yourself into the ground, learn to pace yourself properly, so you have the staying power to get everything done.”  – Laura Stack When my little brother was in elementary school, he was one of the fastest runners in his school. He ran in a competition and my family was allowed to attend. He had a tendency to start out strong and run hard, then lose steam over time. Some of the runners who started out full blast would stumble early on, some even just a few steps into the race. When the whistle blew, Shannon took off running at full speed. One of his teammates was clearly concerned because she started yelling at him, “Pace yourself, Shannon! Pace yourself!” I don’t know if he heard her or not, but he did slow his pace.  There were a lot of kids who started off ahead of him and … Read more