You Are Beautiful
I sit across from her, this friend who admits she had a nose-job many years ago. Her hair is dark, straight, short and spiked. Her features are strong. She doesn’t feel pretty, even after her nose-job. Our male waiter comes to our table and looks at me. Me only. Asks what we’d like to drink. […]
Hurried and Empty
I scramble out the door carrying too much at once. Managing to get into the car without spilling self-brewed Starbucks all over me, I realize I forgot the keys. I set my coffee mug in the holder and throw everything else onto the passenger seat. Run in. Get keys. Run out. Sit down. Close door. […]
Empty? Full? Which Do You Want?
The build up to Easter is over. His death. His resurrection. His leaving the tomb. The empty tomb. The reason for rejoicing. And yet, we still deal with empty. Don’t we? We’re constantly running around trying to fill ourselves up. Aren’t we? Power. Acceptance. Comfort. Control. We all know EMPTY, don’t we? Alive […]
A FAREWELL FOR JO (AND THE HOPE FOR US ALL)
My dear friend Nancy, my neighbor, lost her sister Jo Monday night. 62 years old. Vibrant wife, mother, grandmother, sister, friend. Heart attack. Alive in the morning. Gone by night. There’s agony here around this farm, this Holy Week, as we march to Maundy Thursday, the day our Lord wept in a garden as he […]
On Peace and the Puppy
I never thought a little Yorkshire terrier puppy named Baker could bring me a spiritual gift. Granted, he’s the most adorable dog I’ve ever seen, especially when he’s wearing his red, fur-lined coat with Velcro tummy strap and two elastic drawstrings personalizing his fit at the hip. But . . . He’s a d-o-g. Nevertheless, this […]
Finding Peace in the Mess
In this second week of Advent, the theme is peace. Where is peace these days? I walk into the barn in early morning. After feeding our four horses, I grab a rake and roll the wheelbarrow into the first of four stalls—spaces where our horses find refuge from freezing winter wind, hot summer sun and […]
In Other Words
The words of another, this weekend, for your gentle meditation. The words of Father Jacques Philippe from Searching for and Maintaining Peace . . . The habitual determination to always say “yes” to God, in the great things as in the small, is a sine qua non for interior peace. As long as we have […]
Free From Shame
So he stands there across the island from me, all grown up, wanting so much to be a man, to be seen as a man. I ask him. I ask him, though I vowed to myself I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t get into his business because he doesn’t want us in his business. But it’s so […]
The Fix and the Fixer
I started my reply to her email the other day like this . . . My dear friend! I can feel your aching heart! I wish I could wave a wand and make it all better. But we both know better. I can’t. You can’t. We just can’t make all these huge problems go away. […]
Seeds of Courage
Courage. That’s what I need. And comfort. My heart hurts. And rest. I’m soul tired. Courage. Comfort. Rest. Where do I go? I went to the lake—to our cottage on Lake Michigan, just ten miles north of our home. I went alone after church on Sunday because I craved solitude and quiet more than I’ve […]
Remember the Corn
Dear Little Faith, Remember last spring when you wrote that piece about corn? Remember how you photographed fields of weeds by your house and said how the farmers weren’t able to plant because of the cold and the wet? Remember how you said everyone was wondering if they’d ever be able to seed the ground […]
Humility: The Trailhead on the Path to Life
How often do we come to quiet places in our days and contemplate who we are and how we live before our God Almighty? This desert place—this still place—where only gentle breeze and intermittent buzz of small insects is heard—this place has stripped me down to essentials. Who am I? And who is the I […]