Editors note: Having lost my own mother to the Covid 19 pandemic last May, I’ve been churning over in my mind what good has come from this long season of wilderness and grief. Thankful for fellow writers like Chris Litavsky who can show us the way even when we can’t see it ourselves. God can and does use all things, even deadly pandemics like COVID-19, to bring about good things; beautiful things that give us renewed hope. Romans 8:28 states this truth... Read more
The love that springs from my natural heart is thin and sharp as a razor blade. It may appear glimmering, but its deceptive edge waits, ready to cut and run at the least sign of ingratitude or condescension. The love that I show, in my own strength, is stingy and calculating. This love, the love that comes from me and without Him, isn’t love at all. The psalmist says, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know... Read more
“Anne, you have to come and see Dad, He’s dying.” My sister said. My words were also to the point. “No. I ca…an’t.” Stuttering was something new for me. But I did it whenever I thought about my father. My words would get as nervous as the day he hurled his words at me. And the scene was as clear as a movie I had watched a gazillion times. It was a month after our mom had died from a... Read more
“It’s your turn to feed the dog!” How many times have we said that and how many times has that been said to us? The home I grew up in had a “little kitchen” right off of the main kitchen, basically a pantry with a large white ceramic sink. When we skinned our knees, mom attended to our boo-boos in that sink and the blood dripping across the stark whiteness made me a little queasy. BUT, not as queasy as... Read more
It’s that time again. Time to usher in a new presidency and a time to make New Year’s resolutions. Every year we attempt to write down a list of goals we hope to accomplish. Some of my goals are to do more: organize my photos, read twenty books that I already own, finally clean my messy garage. Other intentions center around improving myself: exercise more, eat healthier, control my Netflix addiction. Certainly, I am not alone. Every year the top... Read more
Raising children is arguably the most demanding job any of us will ever have. While they are under our care, we protect them, shape their character, inform their world-views, and lay the groundwork for their own spiritual journeys. We also referee, comfort, and perform thousands of seemingly mundane tasks. Though the nature of how we love and serve our children changes as they grow up, it doesn’t necessarily get easier. In fact, it can become more stressful and more emotionally... Read more
2020 has brought a not so comforting cocoon of isolation never before experienced by most Americans. With the holiday season upon us we find ourselves navigating how to enjoy family members and stay safe. This poem speaks to the joy of inviting someone “outside,” but it also speaks light and life to our past, hidden and dark relational spaces. Grab a handful of sugar cookie dough and savor these words by one of our poets, Cheryl Grey Bostrom. SHEDDING Ah,... Read more
Exsanguination or bleeding out can take anywhere from two to eight minutes depending on the injury. If an artery in damaged it can take less than a minute. Covid 19 has rearranged our lives since March and for some, since January. We are experiencing a type of slow bleed with no permanent staunching of the blood in sight. It is impacting our physical, emotional, behavioral and spiritual well being. We are depleted, our reserves, vanquished and back to school season... Read more
The world’s on fire, cinder and ash, pluming smoke rising as high as our hearts can see. Everyone shouts their throats hoarse, spitting anger, confusion, elevating their words to be heard over the clangs and gongs of justice gone wrong. This world is awash in misery and misdirection, desperate for a salve to stop the still-spilling wounds of bent and burning hearts. Call it what you will, but there’s one name that can’t be covered up: evil. It stalks this... Read more
“The child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.” West African proverb We interviewed Sheila Wise Rowe, author of Healing Racial Trauma – The Road to Resilience (InterVarsity Press, 2020) last January and talked about rage. Little did we know then that 2020 would usher in a year of misfortune, turmoil and tragedy unlike any other and it’s only June. In her book, Sheila opens her chapter entitled “Rage” with the West... Read more
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