DeeplGood morning... "Joy and sorrow will always be linked," writes author Kay Warren. "And in the strange paradox of the universe, at the exact moment you and I are experiencing pain, we are also aware of the sweetness of loving and the beauty still to be found." I reread those words from yesterday's post, and I noticed the [...]
Good morning... When we feel snapped in half by the storms of life, the light of our living LORD continues to rise each morning and to set each night. At every time and in every place— from the moment the sun rises to the moment the sun sets— may the name of the Eternal be high in the hearts of His people (Psalm 113:3, [...]
Good morning... Up in the middle of the night, I return a loving text to a dear, dear friend who feels absolutely heartbroken and helpless. Next, I open an email from another grieving friend. Her words express divine wisdom we all so desperately crave. "This just came to me," she writes, "from author Ross Gay." What happens if [...]
Good morning... As my friend has been processing her extraordinary grief, she texted a sentence that touched my heart. "I just saw a quote," she wrote. "The pain is the leftover love you don't get to give." Fires, floods, feuds. Loss, lethargy, loneliness. Death, disasters, depression. Cancer, callousness, calamity. Betrayals, breakups, bombings. Accidents, addictions, Alzheimers. There are so [...]
Good morning... "When life feels crooked, I guess there is strength in leaning into old habits," I texted my friend. "Lifting prayers in the Northside Church prayer chapel, a thin space connecting earth and heaven. Sending you divine love to bridge every gap." I lit a single candle, praying for those who are grieving, those who are scared, [...]
Good morning... Yesterday I wrote about Eating With Audrey, Audrey DeShetler who has suffered through cancer treatment after cancer treatment, scan after scan, relapse after relapse, hospital stay after hospital stay, for nearly fifteen years. Recently, Audrey has experienced God's divine healing, sensing from Jesus, "Audrey, you are well." "Hi Sue," a faithful friend wrote, "right after I [...]
Good morning... Okay, so Jesus and I are not the only ones who have experienced the cosmic sting of betrayal. I wrote the final line of yesterday's post, She Doesn't Like You, Sue. Then I climbed back into bed for my second sleep. By the time I woke again, my electronics were filled with stories shared from others [...]
Good morning... "I hate to be the one to tell you, but she really doesn't like you, Sue," one friend said to me about a person I actually considered an important friend. "She's talking badly about you," another woman said at a different time and place. Of all of the mixed emotions I have wrestled with this Lenten [...]
Good morning... I happened upon a unique rendition of the song "I Will Fix You" by Coldplay. Might we imagine God singing these lyrics to us, as we are lost, found, and led home by the light? ****** "Fix You" - lyrics by writers Jonathan Mark Buckland, Christopher Anthony John Martin, William Champion, Guy Rupert Berryman When you [...]
Good morning... "Dear Sue," a loyal friend wrote yesterday. "You have been in my heart lately; with prayers for your Mom (and Dad) and for you as you stretch your own heart full circle. Today’s post from you with that wonderful jar image, and today’s message from Bishop Wright work together beautifully to illustrate the stark reality of [...]
