When I gave birth to my first born child I thought (rightly so) that she was the most beautiful creature on God’s green earth. Although I had no idea how to parent her, no one could fault my love. I loved her so completely, I was so enraptured, I was sure no one had ever …
Do you remember TV from the 80s and earlier? Do you recall how each episode or made-for-tv-movie had a beginning, a middle, and an end? Whatever conundrum our protagonist faced was neatly wrapped up by the end of the show. Things eventually worked themselves out. Things fell into place. And in the most wholesome iterations, …
I was recently reminded through someone’s Instagram story of Galatians 2:20-21. Honestly, I haven’t thought about this particular verse in a while. However, in my youthful zeal, I took this Scripture as my “life verse” when I was just 13. I was flying high on a mission trip in Mexico. I was reading through all …
“God utters me like a word containing a partial thought of himself.” (Thomas Merton) But am I true to that word? Or do I impose sanctions against myself in an empty attempt to manage myself to my myself and to my world. Someone recently told that they loved me and I thought, “Do you love …
When I was a small child (maybe three or four?) my mother asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said I wasn’t sure. She said, “Do you want to be a mother?” and I replied, ”Oh, no! I want to do something important.” What a knife. My poor mother. I …
A few years ago my middle school aged son got into the car and I handed him a book and said, ”Hold this please.” He said, ”Is this a Bible?” I said, ”No, Seven Storey Mountain.” He replied, ”Merton. It’s always Merton with you.” He’s not wrong. This morning I picked up The New Seeds …
Today I listened to this podcast. Although not the main focus of the podcast, it touched briefly on the well-curated lives of those on Instagram. Not just us regular folk on Insta, but those “content creators”….you know….“influencers.” Especially prickly to me personally are those monochromatic curated accounts. All polished and shiny in the same color …
“What you do matters—but not much. What you are matters tremendously.” (Catherine Doherty) Today I wrestled hard with my heart. I am not sure if my will or my emotions won or if it was a draw. Nothing causes you to face what you really are like rejection. My life has been a school of …
A friend asked me recently if I wrote a book what would it be about. I said, “I don’t know. Grief and other lovely things, I suppose.” That is said without an ounce of sarcasm, by the way. I have been in a season of grief for a while—the kind of grief that was at …
And so Lent begins. Another Lent full of dreams of transformation. Or maybe just survival. I wonder at the people who get excited about Lent. Lent has been rebranded in recent years. Parish programs promise a “Lent you will love” or the “Best Lent Ever!” Yes, Lent is good. Fruitful. Necessary. Even beautiful. But I …
reconciling things 