What Face Do We Wear?
Good morning... After a recent morning post, one of my favorite people in the world shared with me a poem that touched me deeply. The words I love most beg a startling question: "With the presence of flaws in the grain at our core, what face will we show the world today?" ****** David Whyte's "The Faces at Braga" If only our own faces would allow the invisible carver’s hand to bring the [...]
Plant Today’s Crumbs
Good morning... "Those who have abandoned themselves to God always lead mysterious lives and receive from him exceptional and miraculous gifts by means of the ordinary, natural and chance experiences in which there appears to be nothing unusual," notices Jean-Pierre de Caussade. "The simplest sermon, the most banal conversations, the least erudite books become the source of knowledge and wisdom to these souls by virtue of God's purpose. This is why they carefully [...]
What Is Life All About?
Good morning... Life carves us down, life carves us down deep. Just scroll back through our past five posts. A cancer-free seven year old now safe in Jesus' arms. An eighteen year old breathing freely in heaven after a lifetime altered by Cystic Fibrosis. A twenty-seven year old wife and mom whose dream life was stolen by a drunk driver. A sassy ninety-five year old serving life lessons in sterling silver goblets to [...]
Learning To Fill Voids
Good morning... “I have been wanting to confess my sin of plagiarizing your work,” she wrote to me this summer, “and also to thank you for being the vessel that brought me a message at a much needed time.” She continued: “In April, my beloved Grandmother passed away at 95. I know we prayed about her over our Monday morning meditative meetings at your home. It was a long life, and she was an interesting [...]
Breathe Love Like Emily
Good morning... She walked into our foyer on the first day of class and, after sharing an "I missed you" hug, she pulled from her purse a bulletin from her eighteen year old niece's memorial service. I marveled at pictures of the same smiling face growing up through the years, a down-to-earth face I will not meet until heaven. Then I happened upon the insert, a "Where I Am From" poem, the same [...]
One Sacred Cemetery
Good morning... One month ago today, I settled into the passenger’s seat of Cathy Smith’s car. This close friend to many of us invited me to visit with her the cemetery where their precious daughter Abby is laid to rest. At midnight on March 23, 2004, I handed my birthday baton to this new little babe and Abby was born on March 24th. Two and a half years later, Abby was diagnosed with [...]
Darkness Is Held By Light
Good morning... So deeply loving her book Gift Of The Red Bird, I joined author Paula D'Arcy for a weekend at Ignatius House Retreat Center in August of 2015. Many who had loved boldly and lost abruptly came to be with this vibrant woman, a woman who was not only standing, breathing, and living on after the 1975 death of her husband and their first daughter, but also a woman who was healing, thriving, [...]
Two Hard Questions
Good morning... I read aloud to the classes in our living room two poignant pages from Paula D'Arcy's most well-known book, Gift of The Red Bird, two pages that describe one life altering day. Paula and her husband Roy were enjoying a simple life with their first toddling daughter Sarah when we pick up their story. ****** Gift of the Red Bird by Paula D'Arcy In June 1975 we learned that I was [...]
Deep Waters Rise
Good morning... All week our TVs have afforded us front row seats for the forecasted devastation of Hurricane Florence. Experts have mapped out the mayhem, predicting the path of this strong-willed storm. What will we see when we turn on the news today? How many people over the coming hours will privately pray? "Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I [...]
My Porch Light Is On
Good morning... When we moved into the tiny, Pennsylvania town-of-my-dreams in the third week of June in 2001, our kids were six, four, two, and two weeks old. As God had planned our placement perfectly, my next door neighbor, Betsy, was also nurturing a two year old and a two week old. Betsy and I became fast, deep-seeded friends, a friendship fueled by our frequent morning walk-and-talks. Here is how it worked for [...]
“Biopsy” Is Not Benign
Good morning... Wow. Yesterday I learned a startling truth: the word "biopsy" is not benign. Benign means good and mild, gentle and kind, tender and harmless. I know the word "biopsy" is not benign, because it caused a fearful stir. I quoted Erwin Raphael McManus in my post yesterday, a post entitled 911 Moments Form Our Faith. McManus wrote, "Even as I write these words, I am a few hours away from learning [...]
911 Moments Form Our Faith
Good morning... Yesterday, September 10th, was the first anniversary of a very significant loss. Loved ones leaned in, joined together, and shared love. Today, September 11th, is the seventeenth anniversary of another devastating loss. Our nation leans in, joins together, and resists hate. I am reminded of the life altering effects of 9/11/01 as I read these words written by a speaker I saw this summer. ****** The Last Arrow by Erwin Raphael McManus "There [...]