Investing in one another involves a beautiful exchange of giving and receiving. But it’s not always easy to accept generosity. Pride keeps it at bay. In addition, a cultural emphasis on “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” cultivates a stigma of interdependence. Six years ago, my oldest son began having health concerns. Sometimes he seemed…
I sat in the darkened parking lot while my husband helped the woman and her son load up our van with her belongings. She had showed up a couple of weeks ago in my Sunday school class looking very foreign to Florida culture in her black clothes and European accent. The distress on her face,…
We were headed to our first week of drive-thru church during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our pastor preached online that Sunday morning, and during the afternoon the congregation was invited to drive through the parking lot to take communion from their cars and drop off any tithes and food pantry items. The tithe checks were already…
I can link many of my insecurities to my parent’s divorce. I can also link many of my greatest blessings, including my husband, to my parent’s divorce. It’s one of the juxtapositions that cause us to lie awake and ponder the healing grace of our God. When I was eight my parents told my brother…
As I scan across the byte-sized headlines filling my social media accounts, an increasingly common phrase beckons my attention. “Mental Health” is finally gaining a common place in our cultural vernacular. In the midst of strong opinions regarding the current ills of the American narrative, “Mental Health” becomes a tossed-around phrase connected to resolutions. But,…
This summer, I will snatch those hydrangea blooms before they’re spent, pluck them at their peak, and set them on my table in a pitcher, just like they do on Pinterest, Instagram, and HGTV. Clippers in hand, I don’t step outside looking to be spellbound, but is it possible to be ravished by a bush?…
Loneliness in the United States has now reached epidemic levels. A recent study by Cigna Health Service Company revealed that “two in five Americans sometimes or always feel that their relationships are not meaningful… and one in five report they rarely or never feel close to people.” This is curious given the unprecedented opportunities we…
I have a confession to make: I love television. I always have. In fact, if a movie we own happens to be on television, I’d rather watch it with commercials than turn the TV off and pop in the disc. Crazy, right? There’s just something about TV. It’s part of my story. A Programmed Life…
Spinning thoughts felt like a whirlpool crashing in my mind, threatening to pull me under. I fidgeted and ached for the relief of the alarm signaling 20 minutes had finally passed. For years, this has been what my sporadic attempts at contemplative prayer have felt like—total failure. I started dipping my toes in the water…
Messy, bloody, and inconvenient. From seventh grade beginnings to 52-year-old endings. That 40-year journey was often so … earthy. Yet, there was potential in each month. My body was ready, willing, and able to partner with God to create life! Menstruating was a reminder that I was a part of creating. I was not in…
“Do one thing every day that scares you.” Mary Schmich, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune (June 1, 1997) wrote that advice to newly graduated students. Even though I graduated decades ago, something about that quotation stuck in my heart. I ruminated on it for days. “Do one thing every day that scares you.” Interesting…
I began reading a book this fall titled Healing Through the Dark Emotions, where author Miriam Greenspan offers insights into the healing properties of what many of us deem “negative” emotions. She argues, from a mostly secular and therapeutic viewpoint, that instead of avoiding that which causes us pain, we must accept pain as a…
When I was in high school and college, I drove really fast (did you know a 1983 Toyota Tercel shakes when you approach 80?). Over the years, I’d slowed down, but still cruised over the speed limit. But on July 2, 2007, I started driving the speed limit. It wasn’t a speeding ticket or an…
A while ago, my mentor challenged me to think about what might happen after I die—more specifically, what heaven might look like. Although middle-aged, I never pondered this mystery before. When I was young, I saw myself as indestructible, protected by the solid shell of my own energy and the strength of naivete. Now, I…