Sunday, February 21, 2021 | Reflections
A dear friend once said, in her west Texas accent, “When I try to control everything around me, I find I make a pitiful God.” When I am sure I am right and others are wrong, I lead with pride, not the humbleness encouraged in this psalm. Sometimes I may be right, or...
Saturday, February 20, 2021 | Reflections
Have you ever felt distant from God, as if your prayers bounced off the ceiling and landed at your feet? I have waited decades for a healing miracle in my family. I have prayed and wept. I’ve begged to be repaid “for the years that the swarming locusts have eaten”...
Friday, February 19, 2021 | Reflections
Halfway through the intersection, I realized I had run a red light. My heart pounded, and time seemed to slow down as I became aware of vehicles from the left and the right slowing to a stop without hitting me. I whispered, “Thank you, God,” and internally rejoiced,...
Thursday, February 18, 2021 | Reflections
Once I attended a retreat led by James Finley, psychotherapist and author of Entering the Mind of Christ. With his Irish humor, he teased the retreatants, saying, “You know, you really are a bunch of odd ducks. Others are out enjoying a beautiful day or watching a...
Wednesday, February 17, 2021 | Reflections
As I type this, we are under stay-at-home orders because of COVID-19. Staying at home for so long is an unusual experience for most of us. We are not accustomed to such solitude and may experience it as loneliness or boredom. Yet, these periods of isolation can...
Tuesday, February 16, 2021 | Reflections
The Hostiles, a neo-western, features Rosamund Pike as a young widow whose family is killed on the frontier. Christian Bale plays an army captain who finds her and escorts her to an army fort. In a discussion between them, he asks if she is a believer, and she says...
Monday, February 15, 2021 | Reflections
A story is told of the philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson who, when warned by a doomsday prophet of the approaching end of the world, said, “Very well, we’ll get along without it.” The thought of heaven and earth passing away is terrifying to some, heart-….(View...
Sunday, February 14, 2021 | Reflections
To ask for a double helping of one’s inheritance requires chutzpah. In this case, the inheritance Elisha requests is not for material goods. He wants a double share of the spirit from Elijah, his mentor and teacher. Elijah has just parted the waters of the Jordan for...
Saturday, February 13, 2021 | Reflections
The summer my daughter was eight, she participated in a dance workshop. The culminating performance featured children dancing to John Fogerty’s song, “Centerfield” (Put me in coach, I’m ready to play…) Children ran, slid, and leaped about the stage. As I watched, my...
Friday, February 12, 2021 | Episcopal Church News
Katherine Marshall hands Lenten surprise bags to a parish family at a drive-by pickup at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta, Georgia, on Feb. 7. Photo: Liz Beal Kidd. [Episcopal News Service] At last year’s Mardi Gras, many Episcopalians in New Orleans and beyond...
Friday, February 12, 2021 | Reflections
The Bible contains many images of angels. Some are powerful messengers who reassure people to “fear not.” Some are avenging angels with the power to destroy. Some are guardians. Artists have portrayed angels in many ways. Raphael painted chubby-cheeked cherubs, and...
Thursday, February 11, 2021 | Reflections
I did not realize until my marriage of thirty years fell apart that a broken heart literally, physically hurts. I wondered if I should see a cardiologist, but a routine physical proved me physically fit and healthy. There are no pills or surgeries to treat...
Wednesday, February 10, 2021 | Reflections
Once (okay, more than once), I became overwhelmed with projects: ministries, committees, acts of compassion and mercy, being the perfect teacher and mom. I was practically a saint, except I wasn’t. I was exhausted and tearful. I was short with my family; my lower left...
Tuesday, February 9, 2021 | Reflections
I would like to be a salty old woman. Maybe I already am. While people consider my mother a kind, lovely woman of wit and intelligence, she also has a little saltiness. She isn’t crude or rude—just plain-spoken and honest. Once, when someone was whiny and dramatic,...
Monday, February 8, 2021 | Reflections
In the 1970s, Time magazine featured photographs of mass baptisms of hippies at California beaches. This was the Jesus Movement, and the converts were called Jesus Freaks. My college dorm neighbor posted a sign on her door, declaring she had found J….(View this...
