100 Words

Evil For Good

August 1st, 2026
Mollie T. Cox

Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.
1 Peter 3:9 (ESV)

It may be hard to repay evil with blessing, but shouldn’t it be easy to repay good with good? Apparently not.

If anyone returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.
Proverbs 17:13 (ESV)

For years, our family read a chapter of Proverbs after dinner. With thirty-one chapters, we read the one that corresponded to the day of the month. Therefore, I’ve read Proverbs chapter 17 many times.

However, I recently saw Proverbs 17:13 differently—as a call to prayer. I love people who have returned evil for good, and as the decades rolled by, I have seen evil not depart from their households.

I’m especially concerned about someone who returns good by tossing evil like confetti. I care deeply about this person, so I want her to know our gracious God who is slow to anger, abounding in mercy, and ready to forgive. Prayer is my best weapon against her evil.

I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Psalm 23:4 (ESV)

Family, Parenting, Relationships

A False Narrative

July 25th, 2026
Mollie T. Cox

The movie I Tonya dramatized the 1994 assault on Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan and its aftereffects. The screenwriter said the film was about

Things we tell ourselves in order to … live with ourselves … how we change the narrative and then want that to be the narrative.
Steven Rogers

This is devastating to those having a false narrative imposed upon them. Some friends and I are in that group.

Yet, I have done the same. I told friends that my parents rarely read to me as a preschooler, and few picture books were in our home. I spoke the truth, I thought, until I poured over letters my grandmother had saved. (See here.)

Mollie calls her new Mother Goose book Mommy Goose.

Mollie knows the Three Billy Goats Gruff by heart.

letters to my grandmother

My false narrative is minor but still unfair to my parents.

How do we fight back? Prayer is the best offense once the false narrative is held tightly. We can prepare by telling the stories and showing the photos that contradict the seeds being planted by the enemy of our souls who wants to divide people, especially families.

Relationships

Everyone Has a Back Story

July 18th, 2026
Mollie T. Cox

Long before the backstory of the Wicked Witch of the West was written and became the musical and movie Wicked, my husband would regularly remind me that everyone has a backstory. Backstories typically prompt kindness or forgiveness or looser standards. I never thought of back stories having glory until one morning at Costco.

A favorite employee was giving samples of an electrolyte drink. I said I would ask my husband his opinion as he used electrolyte drinks during training for marathons.

I never ran. but I started cross-country skiing at the age of eight. When I was fourteen, I won a silver medal, which I still have. A Russian won the gold.
Maria from Poland

I hope to learn more.

I recently attended the memorial services of a neighbor. We had casually chatted in our yards—usually about flowers. I now know she helped raise baby twins when she was a teenager and later raised her sister’s children. She mentored a teenage co-worker and sewed the teen’s prom dresses.

I wish I could know more.

I’ve thought many times how interesting my family and friends are. Now I want to learn their backstories.

What is your shareable but unshared backstory?

Friendship, Relationships

Included and Remembered

July 11th, 2026
Mollie T. Cox

My 4th of July birthday has special advantages. My mother yearly pointed out that my father and much of the nation had the day off. Friends and family members mentioned the fireworks. Uncle Gene’s standard joke was,

I called the White House, and they scheduled fireworks over the Capitol for you.

In 1958, The Greensboro Daily News wanted a photo of a child turning one on the 4th of July. The assigned photographer knew my parents.

I had just finished my nap when the photographer arrived.

The best part of a July 4th birthday is never mentioned. My birthday and I are not forgotten.

As I read my birthday wishes and know others are thinking of me as they celebrate—they tell me they do—I reflect on the beginning of those relationships. Inclusion. How can I resist someone who includes me in their life? How blessed I have been from including others in mine.

There is no single “magic” moment that defines the start of a friendship.
Anonymous

I know the intent of the quote, but I disagree. All friendships can be traced to a moment of inclusion, whether we remember that moment or knew where it would lead.

Decisions, God's Faithfulness

Enjoying the Story

July 4th, 2026
Mollie T. Cox

I have told you that my mom reads the last chapter of the book so she can enjoy the story because she knows how it ends. When we were kids, she went to the computer in the middle of a movie to find out how it ended.
My son

I’m guilty as charged. I claim I’ve run out of adrenaline or else I need to save it because my supply is short. That may be true. I didn’t read the last chapter of books when I was young.

Twenty years ago, I stood with my oldest sons for a for a high school graduation photo. I thought, “I wish I had known how it would turn out. I wouldn’t have worried so much.”

As I turn sixty-nine, I want to apply the lesson of fiction to my real life. I want to enjoy my story and the stories of others much more because I know the ending.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
Revelation 21:3 (ESV)