“And maybe, just maybe, the deepest experience of prayer begins to happen when we, too, learn to be silent. To stop. To pay attention. To offer just one word, or two, to sit in the presence of God, in the anteroom of heaven itself and become prayer. Our very selves, offered on the altar, and then flung […]
a sacred pause: a prayer experience
I climb up the back steps, push open the door, walk past the library on my right, past the sanctuary on my left, through the parlor lit only by stained glass windows. The chapel, on the right, is set up. Nobody else is here. I’ve come to complete an assignment, a challenge to check off […]
at the threshold of the new
Close. Today I close the door on this year. A year in which the world still turns because Your timing turns on a different calendar. As I stand at the threshold of the new, God, give me eyes to see the beauty all around me. And the pain. Give me ears to hear the […]
When the Election Looms
In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. ~Psalm 25:1 (NIV) We stopped at a dingy dive somewhere along the Illinois River where a group of locals played cards at a back table. My husband ordered a fish sandwich, and even he who can eat everything could not stomach the huge hunk of […]
When the Storm Comes
The moon drops into the west like a giant grapefruit this morning, while the storm’s eye focuses on the eastern coastline. My dad calls to remind me that this hurricane carries my name, and I’m already unsettled enough about that. I cringe every time I hear “my” name . . . I’m writing over at […]
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 […]
For Those Who Walk in Darkness
It shatters my slumber, the voice through the monitor. “Gramma. Gramma!” It’s still dark. Sigh. Why can’t she pull her own blanket up or reach the pillow from the floor? I scootch up high and swing legs over and around the cat. I palm the walls, slide heel-toe down narrow carpeted steps, careful not to […]
Five Minute Friday: Here I Am
Morning, Jesus. Here I am. Are you still here? Of course, you are. Silly me. Would you like coffee or tea? Why are you looking at me like that? Oh, the dishtowel. Why am I wearing a red dishtowel on my head and this red top over my green nightie? Well, remember that guy in […]
The Tale of the Lost Wallet
“Joe lost his wallet,” she texted. “What? Oh no. How?” “We stopped at the store, then went to McD’s. And he couldn’t find it. He put it on the boat while we put drinks in the cooler. It must have blown off!” I’ve already slipped into her shoes. Pulled on the guilt wrap. Wondering if […]
Reflections from a Waiting Room
Her name tag reads “Colleen.” She wears blue scrubs, and the embroidered patch on her shirt reads “Eye Surgery…Something.” She sits still, bent to the side a tad with right elbow leaning on the chair arm, palm on cheek. She’s crossed right knee over left and wears the tiniest white work shoes, maybe even […]
