Reflections on the Journey
Of ash trees and fireflies
Morning prayer begins as always, coffee in hand, legs tucked under. Cocooned in the worn down of the sunroom sofa I close my eyes. Without seeing, I sense the gentle sway of the ash tree’s branches towering over my garden. The sunlight flickers, waxing and waning with each playful movement the leaves make in their morning dance. Not even the heavy, humid Philadelphia summer air can stop these...
What Does God Say About Our Desires?
This is the time of year when I’m neck-deep in desire. The four weeks of Advent offer us an extended invitation to prepare for the coming King by noticing the stirrings of our hearts. The quieter we allow ourselves to become, the deeper the vein of desire we mine. Flipping the desire coin over, we find expectation embossed on the other side. The truer our desire, the greater our expectation...
Embracing Desire—The Surprising Gift of Advent
As soon as the Thanksgiving festivities draw to a close and the house empties out again, I begin preparing my heart and home for the next celebration. Carefully I remove the fall decorations and some of the décor that marks “ordinary time” to make room for the myriad decorations I put up each year for Christmas. The rhythm of my efforts at decking the halls keeps time with the Christmas music...
Finding Courage in a Posture of Rest
The noise of an overflowing to-do list jarred me awake. I was shouldering the weight of too much to do, no clear roadmap for how to proceed, and a fear of not having enough time to do it all. The more aware I became of my burden, the more deeply I felt the potential for failure. It’s no surprise that courage falters as the potential for failure increases. With a mind churning to...
Finding Rest in a Busy Life: Is It Possible?
Finding rest in a busy life seems a contradiction of terms. Rest evokes images of stillness, while a busy life requires endless to-do lists to keep oneself organized. List-making anchors me but can also imprison me.
Suite d’espoir, Spring
I’m learning to taste hunger. I’ve always taken food for granted. Not the taste—I’m a certifiable foodie. Just the question of whether I had access to food or not. Living in a land of plenty, I’ve never known true hunger. Oh, I may grumble from time to time, proclaiming, “I’m starving!” but I’ve always had plenty of options to satisfy any rogue hunger pang. Last year I decided to fast one...
