Good morning... Look. A little light shines in the dark of this night. Just enough light sets a single blanket aglow, on the back of a chair beams one simple throw. How this happens, God, I don't know. I don't know, but I do notice. After snapping the photo of this perfect patch of light, I open an [...]
Good morning... May speeds way too fast. Extra commitments. Final gatherings. Parties, performances, end-of-school-year stuff. As we slowed down to sit on her screened-in back porch, we unpacked a quote from Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. "To say how little, not how much, can I get [...]
Good morning... On Tuesday morning, a friend sent me this quote from Elizabeth Alexander. This Elizabeth Alexander is a poet and essayist, a teacher and playwright who was born in Harlem, New York. Wikipedia explains, "Previously, Alexander was a professor for 15 years at Yale University, where she taught poetry and chaired the African American studies department. In [...]
Good morning... I open up this precious card to read these handwritten words: "Dear Sue, I found these cards at the bottom of the mailing box that your wooden hands came in. I'm sorry they were overlooked! Thank you also for another wonderful semester of learning and loving with you." Similar to the original "surrender" card, which I [...]
Good morning... She emailed me after yesterday's post, It's Okay Not To Be Okay. "Upon waking today, holding tight on the 3rd anniversary of my husband’s death," she wrote, "I read your message with the open hands. Then, lo and behold, Henri Nouwen is telling me to unclench my fists and let love enter. I pray with open [...]
Good morning... I woke to the gift of a beautiful text yesterday. A friend in our Monday afternoon group shared the link to her daughter's telling of their family's grief journey. Listening to her vulnerable story was so life-giving to me, so I asked, "Might I share this link with others?" "Of course," she replied. "Our family has [...]
Good morning... I brought home this interesting page of facts from our therapeutic community group at PAWkids last week. YOU'RE HUMAN It's normal to... ....be sad from time to time for no reason. ...not have everything together. ...feel unsure, confused, or not to know. ...feel ugly some days and cute other days. ...have been unprepared for how things [...]
Good morning... "I miss Steve's beautiful words," she responded after yesterday's post, Steve Shares Our Strife. "Thank you for sharing his inspirational thoughts here. This reminds me of a little prayer from Richard Rohr, 'God, help us to love in some small way what you love infinitely.'" "Such wisdom," I replied. "We alone cannot muster love, but, in [...]
Good morning... When I browse the chaplain's message below, written by my husband Steve, I vividly remember the story of strife he shares from our younger years. Now as I look at the unrest on college campuses and intense conflicts at home and abroad, I wonder along with Steve, "Why does God allow us to wrestle, fight and [...]
Good morning... I wake in the middle of this night with one word on my mind: retreat. As I am drawn to explore the word on Dictionary.com, I notice that, as a noun, retreat means "a place of refuge, seclusion, privacy." I see that as a verb, retreat means "the act of withdrawing, as into safety, privacy, seclusion." [...]
