It was a dreary November morning, the trail we were walking devoid of all color and life. The clouds formed a thick, seemingly impenetrable blanket of gray above us, casting a gloomy shadow over the already desolate landscape. We, like the exposed, skeletal trees lining the river, shivered against the chilly late autumn wind as… Continue reading
My daughter has a blanket over her head. “I can’t see, mama,” she calls delightedly as she stumbles about giggling and banging off door frames. Yet this momentary darkness is all just a game; at any moment she can take the blanket off and see where she’s going. But real life isn’t like that, is… Continue reading
I’ve been listening to Deacon Blue’s melancholy “Weight of the World” on repeat lately. Whether or not you’re also partial to this iconic, been-around-forever Scottish band (and honestly why would you not be!), I think we can all agree the sentiment rings true. The world is heavy right now—and most of us are struggling under… Continue reading
The words blared out from the car radio as I ran a few errands around town. It may have been the VeggieTales version but don’t you think for a minute that God can’t speak through screechy, singing vegetables. “Your grace is enough. Your grace is enough. Your grace is enough. For me.” Believe me when… Continue reading
“Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me.. I cannot bear your worthless assemblies…They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are… Continue reading
Black Lives Matter. I’ve never articulated it before now, and honestly I’m not altogether sure why. It never affected me personally, I guess. It simply wasn’t on my radar. And for that I am deeply ashamed. I’m ashamed that as a white woman, a mother, and a Christian, I was so woefully, inexcusably ignorant and… Continue reading
For most people, Mother’s Day was different this year. Here in Albany, there may not have been the usual throngs of people in Washington park like every other year. The usually bustling paths were probably much quieter, the bandstands empty and silent. But though Tulip Fest may have gone virtual this year like so many… Continue reading
We watch the devastating consequences of this pandemic unfold around the world. “Where are you?” we cry out to God. “Can’t You hear me? Why aren’t You making things right?” Turn to the Psalms and you see a similar sentiment. Following a horrific assault on Jerusalem, the psalmist surveyed the ransacked, ruined temple and despaired… Continue reading
Today was a struggle. After a contentious and challenging afternoon with the kids and a bedtime fraught with tears, I felt wearied to the bone. Physically, emotionally, and even spiritually spent, I had no words left to even pray. And then a song floated into my head—a song I had not heard in years. A… Continue reading
I weave through the rows of ornate headstones, soaking in the quiet stillness of the historic cemetery close to my house. Today, my heart feels as heavy as these enormous slabs of stone. I am grieved this Holy week. Never before has my generation faced an Easter like this, where fear and suffering reign supreme… Continue reading
