Dear New Sponsor, I’ve waited so long. So very long. I wondered what was wrong with me that nobody cared. I had almost lost hope. But then you reached out all the way across the world. You said you love me. And I cry. My mother cries, too. We cry because we are happy now. […]
When Wonder’s Wedged
Some days are way weary. This is one of them. Its wonder’s wedged in the dusty gap between the cupboard and the fridge. And stuck in pancake syrup still puddled in the morning’s plates. Tupperware towers topple on the work tables, containers that once held unrecognizable food rescued from the depths of the ancient gargantuan […]
Scripture Sunday: In Your Wildest Dreams
God can do anything, you know— far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. Ephesians 3:20 (MSG)
Still Saturday: Life Itself is Grace
Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is. In the boredom and pain of it no less than in the excitement and gladness, touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is […]
Five Minute Friday: Compassion Wide
God, how is it that you’ve thrown my heart wide open for this young girl who lives on the other side of the world–in Kenya. This country, you created a love for it while I was still a child. I don’t quite get that. Out of all the places in the world–Kenya? Will I ever […]
You’ve Got to be Dreaming! Plus Making Music (or Not) and a Retreat
I had a dream. It came in a big walnut box banded with black and white. It was the first piece of furniture we bought together after our wedding, and when I closed my eyes, I could see my fingers fly up and down those keys. I took lessons weekly after work, and she made […]
When Pain Crumples
She lies crumpled near the goal, in front of the other team’s spectators, and her wail impales my heart. But I’m a good soccer mom/nama, so I sit glued to my chair while her coach runs to her. Soon he’ll sweep her up in his arms (with a few jokes), set her down on the […]
Scripture Sunday: Why You Need to Shine
“Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do […]
Still Saturday: Solitude of Heart
When we live with a solitude of heart, we can listen with attention to the words and the worlds of others, but when we are driven by loneliness, we tend to select just those remarks and events that bring immediate satisfaction to our own craving needs. ~Henri Nouwen in Reaching Out: The Three Movements of […]
Just Enough
I sandwich a thick slab of clothes between my hands and lift them, hangers and all, from closet, plop them on bed. Grace and I sort through them. This shirt is stained. These pants are too small. We dump drawers, make three mounds–keep, toss, give away. The first is the highest. And this is just […]
