
Having grown up in Kansas, I try to be careful in describing Midland, Texas, where I visited this week to speak at a women’s event. I bristle when people describe Kansas as flat and dull. Places that are “home” always have their own beauty in the eyes of the people who live there.
But Midland is so flat that at first it disturbed my equilibrium. How do you get your bearings without some up and down? It’s dry, with scrubby bushes and oil wells.
However, the women I met in Midland know how to create beauty in their homes and in their relationships. Maybe the contrast sparks creative energy. But beauty in Midland is alive and well.
In the home of my hostess, Beverly, I pulled off my boots, carried the ice tea she gave me, and padded along on the dark wood floors from room to room, entranced. None of the rooms was unusually large, but the 12-foot ceilings with crown molding gave stateliness.
The furniture was massive, comfortable, and – the main thing – careful thought had been given to the décor items. Accent lamps were turned on to warm just the right places. Autumn leaves and pumpkins placed me contentedly in the season. A plaque on the inside of the back door – the last thing you’d read as you left for the day – read “P.S. I love you.” I felt like a welcomed participant in a beautiful, well-lived home.
Beverly and I arrived at the church for the event in our “10-minute heels,” as she called them, because they hurt after 10 minutes. My presentation was called “Bring Home the Wonder of Christmas,” and my hope was to wrap the women in the wonder of the Christmas story, and give them practical ideas to center their family traditions and celebrations on the Christ Child.
The church gym had been transformed with a collage of round tables, each decorated by a woman or two by whatever Christmas theme struck their fancy. I sat at Cindy and Jezel’s table, where we had snowflake placemats, elegant silver-rimmed white china, with a Christmas tree and paper Maché snowmen in the center. Blue linen napkins were tied with big silver bows.

Here’s another beauty, that of relationship. Our table hostess Cindy had come with her mother, and her daughter-in-law. Table groups included mothers and daughters, women and friends. When I gave time during the presentation for table discussion, the women chattering easily with each other about Christmas traditions and expectations.
Based upon my experience, there is much beauty in the heart of Midland, TX.