The child cupped his hands under the outdoor faucet. Water trickled down, filling quickly the small container formed by his palms. I watched the scene unfold, a curious onlooker from a land faraway. Cautiously, he brought hands to mouth, drinking, then licking his fingers…
Thursday found me back at Toyota, jokes ready, should opportunity arrive. I entered the small waiting room where a masked woman sat in my favorite corner. She focused on her laptop and communicated without words,” Shh, I’m busy.” Aside from some jokes I brought…
It happens. Wordless sermons like Dean Robert moving his garden chair this morning to accommodate Clemmie, the pig. She’d plopped down for a tummy scratch, but just out of reach. So the Dean of the Canterbury Cathedral put down his readings and notes for…
Early on, my brothers and I learned a few Norwegian phrases like, “nok er nok.” It meant, “enough is enough!” For my parents and us, it functioned like an early warning system. They expected us to cease and desist, knock it off and get…
We moved a lot when I was growing up. So I learned, early on, that home was something more than a house. It was people and a sense of belonging. This weekend reminded me of that truth, when I returned to Gordon College for…
Life’s full of holes. Not all, holy. But reminders that even emptiness is good for something. Take silence, for instance. Music needs rests. Art needs space. But often, we shun silence, empty spaces. We pipe in music. Buy vacant lots to do something, almost…
Life is good, even at my age. Maybe, especially so. I’m in California taking care of GRANDsons, who in high school and middle school are better at taking care of me. I like them. A lot. And their friends. A folding chair or a…
Somewhere I read the secret to a long life is to keep waking up every morning. Well, I’m still here and grateful for every day. But, I seldom leap out of bed. This stage in life lets me linger longer some days. I awake…
Most folks my age have an afghan, probably knit or crocheted by someone in the family long gone. I have two, both made by my Norwegian grandmother. One’s beautiful. The other’s nothing to put on display but it’s my favorite, the last she crocheted.…
A strange directive from Jesus to the twelve disciples, “Don’t take anything with you.”Jesus gave them power and authority to cast out demons and heal all diseases. Then, he added,” Don’t take anything with you, not even a walking stick.” (Luke 9, NLT) The…