On Patience
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12 (NIV) Last Saturday, while blowing leaves from ditches along the driveway and mountain road in preparation for winter, I noticed the bulbs I’d planted last month on...
Time, affirmation, touch, service—all gifts
Ordinarily, I ignore online quizzes. You know, the ones claiming insight into your unique personality based on birth date, favorite color, zodiac sign, or the like. But last week, after reading a faith reflection blog about love relationships, I couldn’t...
Feeling as if I’m eighteen
Two Sunday’s ago, on All Saints Day, a few of us gathered in the church narthex between services. In the sanctuary, others were recording weekly devotions, so we spoke quietly. The church organist and I would play the second service prelude, then we...
Peace and Hope for Boomers
Waiting on hold with a supply vendor, the Home Depot ProDesk associate I’ll call Tammie asked us if we were retired. Keith and I had decided to replace our disintegrating treated-wood deck with a composite, but supplies of building materials had been disrupted due...
A benefit of oversleeping
Sunday morning, I woke to the dark, soothing sound of rain. What time is it? I wondered. I stared at the digital clock on the bureau facing our bed and blinked to bring the red-lighted display into focus. 7:00 am. “Keith! It’s 7 o’clock! We need to leave for...
Reconciled to unfinished
I dreamed it was twenty-five years ago, and my teenaged daughter was learning to drive. We had visited the Dallas Museum of Art—we lived in Texas back then—and were dropping my grade-school son at a friend’s birthday party on the way home. While monitoring my...