I just came up with this great analogy for those of you who have not given a testimony in front of a church (or perhaps any public speaking occasion). Giving a testimony is kind of like having a child – you make all sorts of preparations and attend classes on breathing techniques, go through extreme pain and anxiety during the laborious process, disregard all of the breathing techniques and wing it, then, once it’s all over, you forget everything you said and did. Like childbirth, you have to forget it or you’ll never try it again. It falls apart if you’ve never been pregnant before.
In spite of not really knowing what I said, it seems to have gone well. Now the Browns game is on, and I’m going to take the kids outside and probably for a walk. But before I go, I GOT A POEM ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION! Really, I did! I am pumped. You are reading the words of an official Published Poet. 😉
Published by Sarah M. Wells
Sarah M. Wells is an award-winning author of seven books: To Say One Million Times, WOW: Essays on Awe, Faith, and Family from America's Great Outdoors (and Some Hotel Rooms) - forthcoming in 2026, Ordinary Time: Meditations from the In-Between (2024), The Family Bible Devotional: Stories from the Gospels to Help Kids and Parents Love God and Love Others (2022), American Honey: A Field Guide to Resisting Temptation (2021), Between the Heron and the Moss (2020), The Family Bible Devotional: Stories from the Bible to Help Kids and Parents Engage and Love Scripture (2018), and Pruning Burning Bushes (2012). Sarah's work has been honored with four Pushcart Prize nominations, and her essays have appeared in the notable essays list in the Best American Essays 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018.
Sarah is the recipient of a 2018 Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council. She resides in Ashland, Ohio with her husband and three children.
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Sarah Marie Wells 
Congrats, Sarah! What an accomplishment!
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Well, since I’ve never been pregnant, I don’t know EXACTLY what you are talking about … but I understand. And YES! It did go very well – thank you for being transparent, vulnerable, and honest. And congratulations on your published work! That is so exciting! See you tonight at the meeting…
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Congratulations, poet 🙂
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Congrats! 🙂
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