Clearing Space
Whenever I am disappointed, whether it’s with a friend, an event or how a day has turned out, I ask myself, “What were you expecting? And why?” Because that’s usually the source of my disappointment: somehow reality didn’t match my picture of how it “ought” to be. My narrow self-identity has walled me off from […]
A Thin Place
All night I walked the floor, wrestling with whether to go or to stay. I’d been raised to be responsible, to meet my obligations and fulfill my commitments. That meant staying for the board meeting of the non-profit I was directing. But my father had finally lapsed into a coma and my sisters would both […]
How to Love
My heart sinks when I read the “new commandment” that Jesus gave to his followers: to love one another as he had loved them, because I know how far I am from that standard.* Pictures from all four gospels flood my mind: Jesus welcoming outcasts and misfits, “unclean” women and noisy children, leaders like Nicodemus and foreigners […]
Timeless Wonder
“Is it possible to have a call – a wake-up experience – at a very young age?” The question came in the chat box on a Zoom retreat that I was leading. “Yes,” I said, “I think children do have these experiences, but usually don’t have language for them.” And I went on with my […]
