We squeezed into our airplane seats, Ben poking eagerly at the seatback video screen. The familiar safety instructions started and I turned my gaze to the window as we rolled down the taxiway. "Your closest exit may be behind you," the perky flight attendant reminded us. Why? Because sometimes our focus is so fixed ahead … Continue reading The Door Behind Us
Faith
A Mother to Me, Too
[Apostle Paul, c. 1633, Rembrandt, oil on canvas, Kunsthistorisches Museum [Public domain] / Wikimedia] “You're Bill’s wife!” she exclaimed, holding out her hand. “And what do you do?” “I stay home,” I replied, mentally kicking myself for feeling foolish. “That’s the hardest work of all!” she chirped, scanning the room for someone more interesting. “I'm … Continue reading A Mother to Me, Too
A Lingering Song
I roll over, open my eyes to a new day. My heart breathes thanks, and I notice it again: a lingering song. I have awakened to a phrase or a chorus most days now for a number of years, seeping into my consciousness with morning's light. Frequently a line from Sunday's worship, sometimes from a … Continue reading A Lingering Song
Under the Eaves
Under the eaves I sit, watching the rain wash the darkness. Knowing it breaks and nourishes the ground it fills, cleansing in its course. A breeze cools, fingers my hair. Vanishes. I breathe in the sweet, damp air while the rain falls down, flows down, always down its way, its design, refreshing and softening the … Continue reading Under the Eaves
A Sudden Spring
Here in the far northern part of the U.S., spring arrives in a rush. Mere days after leaves start to appear, small and tightly curled, they burst forth, transforming the forest from stark gray to startling, glowing green. Our neighbors, who a few weeks ago were boiling maple sap into syrup in the snow, are … Continue reading A Sudden Spring
Keeping Watch
I watch the sun sink beyond the birch and maple, grateful for lingering light on these almost-spring days. Soon the bare branches will bud and green, crowding the sunsets over the lake. But tonight, in the cool and quiet, I keep watch. I think of other sunsets, in other places. Of ribbons of colors over … Continue reading Keeping Watch
The Story We Keep Telling
I told the old, old story again this week. The one about how Jesus came to us, and why. The one that tells us we are seen and loved. Pursued and rescued. Swept into both the grandest adventure and an all-or-nothing surrender, thrilling and frightening together. The roomful of women silently considered again that gospel … Continue reading The Story We Keep Telling
“Moon, Moon”
Logan presses his face to the window, searching the darkness. He stands on the couch, pushing the curtain aside, pointing. “Moon, moon,” he says, clapping with joy. On warmer days Logan paces beside the backyard fence, always gazing up, watching birds and clouds and airplanes, and then as night falls he points out the window, … Continue reading “Moon, Moon”
Celebrating the Twos
My son Ben played his heart out last weekend. He and his teammates went to our state’s Special Olympics floor hockey tournament and came home with bronze medals. (Lest you think they are amazing athletes, they won their medals from a group of four teams. Special Olympics forms divisions of four teams each, according to … Continue reading Celebrating the Twos
The Picture We Hold
It's been eight years now since we've taken a picture of the whole family. Eight years since one daughter walked away from our family circle, taking our grandchildren with her. The rest of us still gather every year, and at the end of our time together we take a group picture. But now, our pictures … Continue reading The Picture We Hold
A View of the Lake 