When Our Heart Hurts
Good morning... As I sit outside 2:00 am in a plastic hotel chair beside the Sea of Galilee, the air is dark, calm, cool. I collect my thoughts. I reflect back on another amazing day in Israel, in the region where Jesus, a beloved young Jewish rabbi, fed God's agape love to everybody, prostitutes, tax collectors, those labeled "sinners." Unlike the other seasoned rabbis, Jesus welcomed all who felt their need for God. [...]
When We Feel Deserted
Good morning... As a group of thirty of us are in Israel, guided by my husband Steve, we have traveled two days in the desert, learning essential lessons. When we are stripped down to the core of our being during dry, deserted times, we savor any "strange graces" we happen upon. Small things become big. Breath. Breeze. Shrubs. Shade. Rest. Streams of living water which bubble up before us. [...]
As We Enter Life’s Wilderness
Good morning... I met a powerful poem, a poem I have shared repeatedly this week. In person and over the phone. With our small groups and with a few soul friends. Reading slowly, reading twice, we have noticed together the words which touch us most deeply. Like Moses leading beloved followers through the wilderness, today might this poem lifts its arms and bless us each profusely? Read slowly. Read twice. Notice what touches [...]
Who Are Your Soul Friends?
Good morning... "A soul friend is a person you trust enough to share some of the deepest matters of your heart, someone who will listen to what you share without any kind of judgement, without trying to "fix" anything, and without flattering or criticizing you," writes Margaret Silf on page 47 of Simple Faith. "He or she will, however, listen lovingly to whatever you share and then perhaps reflect back what seems to [...]
Burned Down To My Soul
Good morning... Meeting for the first time in Lent, our therapeutic community group began with our normal feelings check-in with creative blob-figures. I chose to share about our son's engagement, how I feel like the green figure below, diving into totally new territory, leaning into the friends (in yellow) who are skilled at swimming the waters of expanding families, and at the same time basking like the blue figure in total trust as [...]
I Give Up
Good morning... The sentence that flavored my first week of Lent came from a friend who said, "For Lent, I am giving up trying." Trying to fix. Trying to win. Trying to force. Trying to define. Trying to direct. Trying to appease. Trying to control. Trying to predict. Trying to impress. Trying to persuade. Trying to understand. Trying to make things happen, my way in my time. What a powerfully freeing sentence: "For [...]
Comparison Kills Our Joy
Good morning... "WOW, congrats!!!" she reached out after yesterday's blog post about our oldest son's engagement. Her email continued: "Driving into the factory this morning, I listened to Family Life Today and learned of a “new to me” book from 2015 - Seated with Christ: Living Freely in a Culture of Comparison by Heather Holleman. I really needed to hear the radio interview with the author in order to express my joy for [...]
As Our Families Expand
Good morning... I wake to remnants of our oldest son's engagement party. A homemade congratulations banner. A line-up of photos from their eight months of dating. A frig full of leftover food and beverages. Remnants of a wonderful whirlwind weekend. Just now, as I sat down to blog about our one-of-a-kind Saturday, at 1:40 am came a rustle at the front door. Sharp barks from our little dog. A click of the lock [...]
Hanging On By This Thread
Good morning... "I loved your Stop Trying post," a longtime friend wrote yesterday. "The image of hands caught my attention." "On our recent trip to New York, we went to the Guggenheim," she explained. "There was an exhibit for Black History Month that was quite moving, about slave ships coming to America. I keep returning to the close up image of these hands." "Beautiful," I responded. [...]
Stop Trying
Good morning... After a deep, heartfelt conversation, she said, "For Lent, I am giving up trying." I thought to myself, "That's a weird thing to say." At first. Then the thought strangely returned to me. Then again. And quietly, just now, again. As I sit still with her phrase in the middle of the night, I begin to understand what she might mean: "For Lent, I am giving up trying." Might we give [...]
I Feel Like Dirt
Good morning... Yesterday, after my second sleep, I woke to a thought provoking poem sent by a friend. Slowly, I read it aloud to myself, thinking, "What a gorgeous way to begin Ash Wednesday." As we journey into the invitation of this Lenten season, might we each take a moment to savor these words which are blown like seeds of a dandelion, from friend to friend? ****** "Blessing the Dust" by Jan Richardson [...]
Let Go This Lent
Good morning... In our backyard, remnants of old blend with green growth of new. Yesterday, I snapped a few photos capturing signs of death and rebirth coexisting in the garden. Now up in the middle of the night, I feel drawn to don my slippers, to grab a pair of scissors, and to snip off, one by one, the dry stalks left from last year. Old life has run its course; new life [...]