Gaining a heart of wisdom
Every spring, property owners here in Maine cede our rights over to the blackfly population. With their serrated jaws and overwhelming numbers, they swarm by the hundreds, drawn by breath and body heat. I've seen them drive even the most determined souls back into the safety of home. When my four sons were all small… Continue reading Rest for the Weary and Hope for a New Season
Jesus is risen!He is risen, indeed!And, today, as we affirm that glorious truth with our sunrise breakfasts and Easter lilies, with our celebratory singing and ham dinners, we're coming close to the heartbeat of God. For most of us, it will be a busy day, so let's fortify ourselves with truth strong enough to carry… Continue reading What Do I Learn About God from Easter?
One of the best features of the church I call home is the perpetually shifting hats I get to wear. Recently, the flu sidelined several of our families, effectively gutting the Sunday school. I teach the ladies, and since the mums were all home with their sick kids, I got to teach the only healthy… Continue reading On What Are You Basing Your Value, Your Hope, and Your Being?
We sat in silent disbelief, neither of us knowing what to say. When my husband’s job was eliminated without warning, the news landed like a tidal wave: completely unexpected and comprehensively devastating. Then, as the wave receded, applications, interviews, and the thin hope that accompanies waiting seemed to set the agenda for our family’s unknown… Continue reading How to Persevere in Hope When the Outcome is Uncertain
Hanging off the northeast end of the U.S. mainland, waiting for evidence that spring has, indeed, arrived, it’s a challenge to get into an Easter frame of mind. The dark is still holding sway over the light, and resurrection-thinking requires a muscular faith. Pressing into a Truth that challenges me to fathom the unfathomable, I… Continue reading The Whispered Hope of Easter: A Promise of Eternal Spring
Hope has become one of those words that might show up on a couch pillow or stenciled onto a wall hanging. We’ve domesticated the word, taming it until it’s become a floating, sentimental abstraction: "Faith, hope, and love... now you may kiss the bride." The truth is that hope is our lifeline, but we do… Continue reading The Peril of Hoping in Hope and the Solid Joy of a Better Hope
“Hey, do you think you can get this stain out, Mum?” He handed me his T-shirt, still warm from his body, and I assured him that boiling water would make short work of blueberry juice on cotton. As the kettle boiled and the water poured and the steam rose from the kitchen sink, I thought… Continue reading What Does Hope Look Like? (Meditations Over a Stained T-Shirt)
It's a chilly April morning, and Tucker and I galumph our way around the wooded path that circles the land behind our home. Along the path, a little beech tree stands alone, fully clothed in a grove of naked but budding alders. Every little breeze stirs a papery rustle as her brown leafy hands greet… Continue reading Persevere in Hope Even When Everything Feels Too Hard
Sunday Scripture I've been in charge of the woodstove lately, and since my good husband is recovering from surgery, I have learned that as long as I have a half cord of kindling and the equivalent of a Boston Globe, I can, indeed, start and maintain a respectable fire. I've started collecting bark and small… Continue reading Let Truth Kindle Your Flame of Passionate Hope
Sunday Scripture My youngest son leaves for college at the end of August--or at least that's the plan. College in the age of COVID-19 involves a certain amount of uncertainty. To date, four of his seven classes have been declared "remote," but no one has even come close to answering his questions about how one… Continue reading What Does Suffering Have to Do With Hope?
Living Our Days 