What Shines

What life and God can teach us will not be hurried, cannot be manufactured, is not a diamond that will appear at will at the insistence of the powers that be in a certain place and time because it seems like this is a good place to “discover” a diamond and we certainly can’t trust … More What Shines

The Women

I have become one of The Women. I remember The Women clearly. In my home church in the mid-eighties, there were a handful of really tragic losses. I can open a door in my mind and look right back down the years to The Women gathered around the bereaved mother at the head of the … More The Women

Where They Are

Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is.  – Genesis 21: 17 These words were spoken by an angel to Hagar as she sat at a distance waiting for her child to die. She was out of water and knew the boy could not live without it, … More Where They Are

As If I

As if I could not reach out and be immediately clasped by the warm, strong hand of Mary, (the one from Magdala), leaning forward,  reaching out to me, her bright robes brushing the ground, her face smiling. Embraced and encouraged by one who knows what it means to love God and love yourself — what … More As If I

Confession

Confession. There’s nothing like it. For me, for you, for everybody. I have seen this first hand in children. An unhappy child, needing to confess something, dragging their feet, complaining of a stomachache. When it all finally comes out, amid tears and dramatic flopping on the bed, all is eventually resolved, hugged out, and there … More Confession

Better

The people who walked in darkness     have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—     on them light has shined. – Isaiah 9: 2 Walking in darkness — being in a time of sadness or loss, great ignorance, hardness of heart, oppression, desolation. Seeing a great light – relief from … More Better

“40”

I waited patiently for the Lord;     he inclined to me and heard my cry. – Psalm 40:1 Isn’t music magical? All I have to read is I waited patiently for the Lord and BAM, time travel. I’m back in high school, U2 is singing their iconic song on the radio, and I am encountering new and … More “40”

Ink

I process slowly (made that way, have tried, can’t change it) but I draw in ink because there is no time for erasing. There is time for laboring, but no time for belaboring. If my personality ran the show– mercy, I’d be there forever, tweaking, examining, redoing. Nobody has time for that. The next thing, … More Ink