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Bethany Broderick

Bethany Broderick

Finding God's Grace in the Everyday Moments of Life

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Author: bethanygwb

Growing in Grace

When I Am Afraid

October 22, 2021October 21, 2021 bethanygwb

Every October, it would take a little longer for my parents to take me to kindergarten. The extra minute or two delay began when our neighbors at the end of our street covered their small yard with every kind of Halloween decoration. Plastic gravestones lined the driveway. White ghosts swung from the oak tree. Fake… Continue reading When I Am Afraid

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Adoption

Approved and Waiting

September 25, 2021 bethanygwb

On New Year’s Eve 2019, we had begun preparing our adoption profile book after a long six-month home study process for domestic adoption. I wasn’t feeling well and wanted to blame it on the rich holiday food, but on a hunch, I took a pregnancy test. 2020 began with a big surprise, we were pregnant… Continue reading Approved and Waiting

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Growing in Grace, Motherhood

Lessons from Daniel Tiger

September 17, 2021September 17, 2021 bethanygwb

“Grown-ups come back.” “Find a way to play together.” “If you have to go potty, stop and go right away.” If you’re currently a parent of toddlers, you will know the melodies that accompany the lyrics above from our favorite friendly jungle animal. Each day, my daughter jumps out of her bed after naptime—excited for… Continue reading Lessons from Daniel Tiger

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Theology

The Fear of Bad News

September 3, 2021August 31, 2021 bethanygwb

“We got a few updates,” my husband begins as he walks through our bedroom door after his late-night conference call with his Army Reserves unit. “Are you getting deployed?” I blurt out the words before he reaches the bed. My heartbeat hammers and my fists clench, anxious for him to answer my question.   He… Continue reading The Fear of Bad News

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Hospitality

A View from My Front Porch

July 23, 2021August 31, 2021 bethanygwb

Last summer, I spent each suffocating quarantine morning squeezing my pregnant body into a bright blue lawn chair. Like the rest of the pandemic experience, it was miserable, but I made do. Yet as soon as I caught the scent of changing seasons this past March, I drove to a local outdoor store and bought… Continue reading A View from My Front Porch

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Growing in Grace

Taste and See

July 13, 2021August 31, 2021 bethanygwb

Strawberry picking signals the beginning of spring each year for our family. I off the the dirt road, now muddy after a morning shower, and my daughter races to pick out her white bucket. It’s still cool enough for me to wear a cardigan, but after thirty minutes, I begin to sweat while squatting to… Continue reading Taste and See

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Motherhood

Tiny Discipleship

June 18, 2021August 31, 2021 bethanygwb

My daughter chatters and slurps her yogurt and honey at the breakfast table while I feed rice cereal to my son in his highchair. She narrates her favorite parts of the new Disney movie we watched last weekend, Raya and the Last Dragon, and raises her voice and spoon for dramatic effect. I’m half listening,… Continue reading Tiny Discipleship

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Motherhood, Theology

The Better Parent

June 11, 2021August 31, 2021 bethanygwb

One rainy Monday morning, frustrated tears slid down my two-year-old daughter's cheeks before we even made it out of the bedroom. I coaxed her sobbing body into the kitchen, still insisting she wanted Play-Doh not breakfast, but she slumped to the floor seeing the waffles I made. Already exhausted from the morning's conflicts, I conceded… Continue reading The Better Parent

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Growing in Grace

Remember the Flowers

May 28, 2021August 31, 2021 bethanygwb

I hate the ten minutes at the beginning of a road trip. As soon as the garage door closes and our car pulls out of the driveway, my mind takes off. Did I get my phone charger? Watch charger? Laptop charger? I can’t remember if I fed the cats. Wait, are the cats accidentally locked… Continue reading Remember the Flowers

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Growing in Grace

Little by Little

May 5, 2021August 31, 2021 bethanygwb

There’s a widget on my iPhone home screen reminding me how fast time flies. Each day it displays pictures reminding me what memories I was making months and years before. One month ago. My seven-month-old son gnawing on an Easter egg while his big sister hunts for eggs scattered through our yard. One year ago.… Continue reading Little by Little

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This month, we’ve overcome COVID and RSV. We’ve advocated for therapies and talked with our families about the complexities of transracial adoption. We’re learning to steward her story (and her birth mom’s story) well. We’re finding new rhythms as a family of 5 (and showing grace when things fall apart). We’re still waking up every three hours at night, still weighing every morning, still praying for each and every ounce. We’re still praising God for the countless little miracles that brought her into our family. “Do you think we’ll ever feel rested again?” my husband asks and gives me a half smile from the driver seat. We were traveling home from a long weekend at the beach, and while the family memories made in the waves and sand were well worth it, we felt exhausted. Maybe it was all five of us sleeping in one room. Maybe it was how our older two refused to eat anything but goldfish and ice cream the whole trip. Maybe it was the collective mental baggage we brought along with our overpacked minivan. We spent the past week celebrating my grandparents’ 60th wedding anniversary! All twenty of their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren travelled from across the country (and ocean) to honor the legacy of love they have left for each of us. My jaw dropped when my four-year-old daughter willingly donned her puddle jumper and sauntered into the water without protest. Holding onto her daddy’s hand, she laughed as the foaming cold waves slapped against her thighs. She yelled for them to go deeper, and eventually I could only make out the tops of their goldens heads.

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About Me

I live in Birmingham, Alabama, with my husband and three children. A recovering perfectionist, I write about resting in God’s grace in the everyday moments of life as a woman, wife, and mother.

I am a regular contributor for Momma Theologians and The Joyful Life. My articles have been also featured on Risen Motherhood, Coffee+Crumbs, and She is Kindred.

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