Pain
Sorrow
Keeping vigil with the Townes today. There are no words. I am clinging to the truth that no matter how deep our sorrow, God’s love is deeper still. And I’ve heard it said that grace always flows downhill: pooling in the deepest, darkest places of our pain. May the Townes feel that inexpressible peace that…
O is for Our Father
When your spirit feels stripped, when your foundation is rocked, when you watch your friend’s lives being torn in half like a giant bed sheet, you begin to wonder about this God – the one that you have never not known, the one that you have sung about since you can remember, the one that…
Ben
In July of 2007, I took a ferry from Seattle across the water to Bainbridge Island, and drove to the beach where I met one of my best friends, Carin, and her 2-year old son Ben. We walked along the water, and threw rocks into the waves, and looked for little sand crabs, and ate…
Moving "massage" from a want to a need
Our bodies don’t always do what we want them to. This is terrifying. For as long as I can recall, I have carried tension and stress in my neck and shoulders. I remember being 6-years old and going to see a chiropractor – I was complaining about back pain in kindergarten. As I’ve gotten older…
The long road
I don’t understand why there has to be so much pain, so much fear, so much weight. But there is. Just look around: our world is cracked and bleeding and broken. I turned on the news last night, but had to turn it off again – my brain simply could not handle more problems. I…
Quick – what’s a stronger word for “lousy”?
Some things have happened lately – some things that have left me feeling really lousy. Worse than lousy. I would say “shitty,” except then some people might get upset. So I’ll just leave it at lousy. What are these “things” that have happened? Well, take your pick – there’s a panoply. But I don’t want…
Twisted slinky legs
On Saturday, Julie and I felt due for an adventure – one that would get us out of the concrete and steel of our harsh city living – so I picked her up at 7:30am and we drove an hour east of Nashville. We located the completely unpeopled trailhead for Bearwaller Gap, and just walked…
The agony
The next time that you receive a piece of mass mail in your mailbox, I want you to hold it in your hands. I want you to caress it, and turn it over, and draw your finger along its edges. I want you to admire the way that it has been sealed with care for…