The website says this: Lament gives depth, nuance and clarity to the story God is telling— his people willingly surrendering long held beliefs, prejudices and defenses. Apologies, website writer, But your definition is a doctor’s clipped verdict in a white room. To the rest of us, lament is this: The scream of … Continue reading How to Write a Lament
Courage, beloved. Do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. Do you not remember what He said? “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart. I have overcome the world.” We were told to expect this. Our comforts have lulled us to … Continue reading How to think about the time you’re in
When this year began, there were many allusions to 20/20 vision, the mark of perfect sight. How hopeful we were! As we look back now, how do we see the events of this year? Maybe 20/20 vision is too clear. Too painful. Maybe we mark the year with cynicism, anger, sorrow, despair. We can’t help … Continue reading Conclusions about 2020?
for words in the dark. for the feel of the path beneath my feet. for the sound of Your breath, unseen. for the sunrise that does not end the exile, but reminds me to remember. for the memory of the long thirst in the desert, of kingly … Continue reading Grateful
I woke up at 3:00 am thinking of you. You, the one struggling to believe or maybe even refusing to believe at all. I think of you all the time, actually. I was also thinking of myself and my own struggles to believe, my desires to have all the answers to tell you so you … Continue reading Things I Know to Be True: Some thoughts at 3:00
On the morning after the vote a star somewhere will collapse in upon itself, sending tiny ripples across the universe. A woman will birth her first child, a grandfather will breathe his last. The hawk who lives at the top of the cottonwood tree will again hunt his breakfast as birdsong breaks just on the … Continue reading After the Vote
You might be like that man in the synagogue. The crippled one. The man with the withered hand. This may as well be your name. It is the thing that defines you. This is what you carry with you—this disability that has sidelined every dream or plan and directed your life’s path. This is what … Continue reading A story for shriveled people
Five Minute Friday: Church Dear Church, You are jars of clay, all of you, and you should stop pretending otherwise. In your plain selves you carry richest treasure, the mightiest power, and that is the miracle. Why are you surprised? You are indeed afflicted in every way, perplexed persecuted struck down. But can you see … Continue reading A Letter to the Church
Five Minute Friday: Could Arms crossed, I glare out the window at the falling snow. Usually the first snowfall is welcomed and celebrated in this house, but not today. At least, not by me. This is all wrong. It is September. The eighth of September. September is my favorite month, the month when everything turns golden, when … Continue reading Choosing What Could Be
Five Minute Friday: Loud If you drive through the valley and up the mountainside toward the old ghost town, there’s a place on the side of the road where you can stop and see the Cascades. If you pick your way down the hill and sit on the boulders, you can see the Chalk Creek … Continue reading Loud
