My return to the mental ward from the Hungarian ICU gave me hope that I had endured the ugliest part of this trial. Yet, sleep still eluded me. When I closed my eyes, visions returned of angels and demons and wars in the celestial realms. My mind had not yet fully returned to me, and…
My running shoes left footprints in the damp earth as I headed up the trail. I sucked in the delicious mountain air – a rich blend of wild herbs, flowers, fresh grass, and trees. Easy conversation and laughter spilled out as my friends and I traversed over moss-covered rocks and exposed tree roots. Angled sunlight…
We’ve done more than a few home renovations. One involved our kitchen and jack hammering up our floor to move water pipes. The other involved our master bathroom and punching through drywall to again, move water pipes. My husband got our boys involved in this particular demo project, giving them thick gloves and telling them…
When I was in medical school, one of my classmates came to the mind-boggling realization that after four years of college and two years in medical school, he didn’t really like medicine after all. What he thought would be a life he would love turned out to be nothing but trouble. By that time, he…
I crawl underneath a 100-year-old house to inspect its sinking foundation. Built on post and pier a century ago, its footings are settling into the sand. Beneath the floorboards the foreman points out the rotting posts and the unstable footings. Already afraid, with my chin to the damp dirt and remains of vermin and creature…
I grew up in a central Indiana trailer park that smelled of antifreeze and the continuous waft of a neighbor’s cigarette. A half-charred trailer leaned at the park’s entrance, a monument to the short-lived relationship between fire and manufactured homes. All my family’s coming and going was marked by the collapsing shell of someone’s former…
“The reason the Father loves Me is that I lay down My life in order to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from…
I’ve spent years chiseling away at the beautiful façade I’ve constructed around my faith. At times, the chisel has been traded for a sledgehammer: When I watched as a lone Buddhist monk was turned away from entering a megachurch because he wasn’t dressed appropriately When I heard Mother Teresa condemned to hell by a prominent…
My family spent many years in a small church. It wasn’t well recognized. The sermons were fine, but not great. The building served its purpose but was far from spectacular. But we knew (almost) everyone who walked in the doors and had many opportunities to grow through service, teaching, and leadership. Now, we attend a…
Dear Reader, What’s so holy about going to the grocery store? Or doing laundry? Or taking a meal to a sick friend? Or changing a diaper? You might think of sacraments as things like the Eucharist (Communion) or Baptism, or Marriage. But when we do all that we do for Christ and in Christ, we…
When I hear the word sacramental, the image (and voice) that pops into my mind is that of Mel Brooks, satirically clad in the attire of a Jewish Rabbi, leading a mule-drawn cart full of Sacramental Wine. He stops to chat with Robin Hood and his Merry Men clad in tight (tight) tights, and then…
Over the last 25 years I have become weaker and less mobile due to my chronic, disabling illness. I have become unable to be an active part of any church or community. At times I have felt very isolated and wondered if I were really part of the Body of Christ. So much of the…
Hours after my daughter was born, a nurse whisked her out of the room for the pediatrician to examine. My husband followed as I lay in bed worrying. When he returned, he said the pediatrician had heard a click in our daughter’s hips and that we would need to go to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. …
Every day on our farm, I engage in the ritualistic task of moving manure to our compost pile. Cleaning the barn is a familiar and comforting chore, allowing me to transform something objectionable and just plain stinky to a tangible benefit: growing the nurturing fertilizer of the future. Unlike some daily rituals in my life, it…