Recently Peter and I took a walk together. We were talking about some trouble Penny’s had in school lately. Peter said, “Do you want to pray?” And so we did. It was easy, refreshing, and totally unusual for us. After nearly two decades as a practicing Christian, I still have trouble with prayer. My mind wanders. It feels like a laundry list instead of a conversation. I wonder if it is a pointless exercise. And yet I also long for... Read more
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable creature since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do. -Benjamin Franklin Read more
There’s been a fair amount of reporting on the celebrations that followed immediately after news of Osama Bin Laden’s death, with people swarming Times Square and flocking to the White House to cheer and dance and start a party. But members of various religious communities have expressed concern over jubilation in the wake of any death, even that of a sworn enemy, even that of the terrorist pitted against the United States. The New York Times blog reports on Buddhists... Read more
Years ago I read Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy, by Carlos Eire. It was written in the wake of the Elian Gonzalez affair, and Professor Eire (he teaches at Yale) wrote his memoir of growing up in Cuba before Castro took over. Last fall I heard Prof. Eire speak about his new book, Learning to Die in Miami: Confessions of a Refugee Boy. I liked this book even more than the first. As it happened,... Read more
A long time ago I realized that when people first look at Penny, they don’t see her. They see Down syndrome. I do the same thing. When I see someone in a wheelchair, I struggle to pay attention to the individual in front of me. The disability makes it hard for me to see the person. But when my sight changes, what a gift. It happens with other people too–when I see my sister Kate according to my experience with... Read more
“An ‘innocent’ Jesus does not overpower sin. A righteous Jesus does. The world needs less innocence and more righteousness.” –Greg Carey, Sinners In this week’s New York Times Magazine, Benoit Denizet-Louis profiles a place called St. Anthony’s House, where alcoholics can go and keep drinking. They receive three meals a day, a small amount of cash which they often spend on alcohol, and a place to stay. And they receive acceptance. What would Jesus say? According to Greg Carey, Jesus... Read more
We practice praying as a family. Sometimes we have our kids repeat the Lord’s Prayer after us. Sometimes we go around in a circle and say one thing we’re thankful for and one thing we need. Last night was a freestyle night. William started out prostrate, and his prayer was something like, “Mandoobo, cannallooloo, pen!” “William,” I said, “if you aren’t going to pray using real words, then don’t pray.” He soon decided that he’d rather play with the laundry... Read more
I wrote a few weeks back about a little boy from Zambia who died wearing William’s clothes. His name was Francis. Our friends Holly and Eric Nelson, founders of the Special Hope Network, cared for him. They recently wrote to say that another little boy, Gabriel (who has been featured in a Perfeclty Human post on this blog in the past), died too: “Such a Surprisingly Sad Morning.” Holly and Eric moved to Zambia with their family–three adopted children with... Read more
Last month my husband Paul and I went to Israel to celebrate our 40th anniversary. One of the places that we visited was Bethesda. Unearthed pools with high Greek columns, wide steps and stoned walkways leading to smaller pools were before us. For many years I had imagined taking Kim, my daughter, to this place, so Jesus could touch her and heal her totally. The sun was beginning to get lower in the sky and the group we had come... Read more
Marilee goes to the doctor’s every four weeks and they chart her growth as the pounds rack up. She laughs out loud now. She holds on to me when I pick her up. William’s 2T pants are getting snug around the waist. He has begun to be able to pronounce “l.” He now can count to 20. Penny now tells me what she wants to bring to show and tell this week, and she scampers over the rocks on the... Read more
Thin Places-Faith, Family and Disability
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