Settling in the straw, I am grateful for a quiet moment after a 12-hour workday followed by all the necessary personal conversations that help mop up the spills and splatters of everyday life. My family verbally unloads their day like so much stored up dirty laundry needing to be washed and rinsed with the spin…
It was the second week of March 2020, when our local government issued an order for lockdown amidst ominous news being reported from China, and serious statements issued by the World Health Organization. Both Canadian and international networks broadcast daunting images of Italian cities that looked like ghost towns, alongside interviews with exhausted doctors and…
It is better to be kind than to be right. In a world where you can be anything, be kind. Practice random acts of kindness. There is no shortage of the admonition to be kind in today’s culture. There are T-shirts, Instagram feeds, and even whole movements dedicated to spreading kindness. Yet, in apparent…
As kindness is a fruit of the Spirit, how can Christians better demonstrate this in our daily lives? Do No Harm, But Take No Crap… Viewed through the lens of one made in the Image of God (Imago Dei), that is a Christian value. Christian practice historically accepts offense without complaint as a demonstration of…
My tween eyes followed its four-foot journey towards the cashier with more suspicion than curiosity. “Who’s THAT for?” I interrogated. She plucked the mitten-hat combo off the rack and sent it down the conveyor belt with the Beef-a-Roni and cantaloupe. This fuzzy ensemble wasn’t me, and I prepared to wield my fashion veto power. “Not…
“The Lord Almighty grant us a peaceful night and a perfect end. Amen.” I begin again through the Compline liturgy, trying to integrate this ancient practice into my bedtime routine. Praying through these lines each night is new to me, a nod toward the start of a new year and a hope to ward off…
I looked around the room at the 12 brave young people who had shown up for a field trip to the local community college. Occasionally in my work as a high-school substitute teacher, I am assigned the special education “Transitional Academy” for students who are no longer in high school but have been mandated an…
When I was born, my Auntie Lin gave me a wall hanging inscribed with my name, its meaning, and a verse plucked from Proverbs 31: “She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness” (31:26 KJV). It was the first verse I learned by heart, the calligraphy staring out…