Welcome to Wild Splendor…

…where you will find a tiny space on this enormous World Wide Web that offers gleanings from learning to live life after tremendous, soul-crushing loss.

The name “Wild Splendor” is a blending of words originally inspired by scripture…

25 “Therefore I tell you, stop being worried or anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted) about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, as to what you will wear. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow [seed] nor reap [the harvest] nor gather [the crops] into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 And who of you by worrying can add one hour to [the length of] his life? 28 And why are you worried about clothes? See how the lilies and wildflowers of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin [wool to make clothing], 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory and splendor dressed himself like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive and green today and tomorrow is [cut and] thrown [as fuel] into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 Therefore do not worry or be anxious (perpetually uneasy, distracted), saying, ‘What are we going to eat?’ or ‘What are we going to drink?’ or ‘What are we going to wear?’ 32 For the [pagan] Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; [but do not worry,] for your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But first and most importantly seek (aim at, strive after) His kingdom and His righteousness [His way of doing and being right—the attitude and character of God], and all these things will be given to you also.

34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

-Matthew 6:25-34 Amplified Bible

A pattern emerged in the wake of our loss. The natural, free, and wild in all their splendor has provided a balm for our broken hearts. A chicken foraging for food. A blade of grass in our yard. My daughter’s tears as she recalls memories of her little brother. A smile and wave from a random lineman working on the side of the highway. A text from a friend describing a daffodil pushing up and growing through the concrete. A shooting star at the precise perfect moment. This Wild Splendor points to the Creator, who is our ultimate hope.

If there were ever two words to summarize our precious son, who went to sleep in Jesus on January 30th, 2024, it would be Wild Splendor. Theodore Joe was Wild Splendor, all wrapped up as a beautiful little boy.

Offerings…

Lessons learned through grief, recipes, book reviews, memories of a child gone but not forgotten, natural healing, and more in due time. All these offerings graciously bestowed to our family and then passed on to you, the reader, hoping to shed at least a sliver of light in this weary world.