Buried Treasure
A friend of mine calls the work to uncover the roots of emotional blind spots “hunting for buried treasure.” This delightful framing encourages me to tenderly sift amongst my doubts and fears with more ease. What hidden jewels of self are these intrusive tendencies protecting? In the Parable of the Weeds,* we see the impulse […]
The Pattern Within
A young missionary in a church out west, I had my first real job, and my first family away from home. At the tail end of my two year stint, deep in the process of ordination, I was seminary bound. A colt kicking in the stalls, ready to run, I was pregnant with grand ideals about how […]
Babe
Whether on a church sign or a doormat, the word “welcome” doesn’t always tell the truth. What we do know is that it’s fixed in place. A true welcome is a stance, a practice, a moving thing. It’s most powerful when it’s in loving pursuit, carried in an outstretched hand: Medicine for the wounded, food for the […]
Sword of Subtraction
A friend asked me to ponder the question, “What is shaping me?” Then put it another way, “What does a resurrection-shaped life look like?” I find these questions difficult because I realize so much is beyond my control. More and more, I am in new, often unwelcome, territory. Beloved ones die. Health issues increase. Years of comfortable ways of connecting in […]
