Love is difficult. Much as I long to love others and be loved in return, now that I have children, I very much understand that love is messy and challenging and there are days when I think I can’t do it anymore. I’m not talking about Hallmark card love, about hearts or kisses or sentimental words. Abstract love—love as a concept—that I can do. It’s easy to walk into Penny’s room before I go to bed and gaze at her... Read more

I once heard a sermon about becoming friends with God. The point of the sermon was to encourage everyone in attendance to spend some daily time with God, be that in prayer or reading the Bible or something else. And although I was in college at the time, I distinctly remember the preacher saying, “This does not apply to one group of people.” Pregnant pause. He went on, “Mothers of young children.” And now I understand why. Not only is... Read more

November 2008Babies Perfect and Imperfecthttp://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=6367December 31, 2008The Good Lifehttp://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/?p=1267 Read more

Although these posts are scheduled to appear while I’m away, it seems fitting that this final one in the series “God With Us” would appear on New Year’s Day. May we all know new life with God in the year ahead… Happy 2010! I’ve been a Christian for a long time now. And yet I can say that through his Spirit, God is still changing me, transforming me, making me more and more the person he wants me to be.... Read more

I have never been much of a shopper. I don’t like trying on clothes. I don’t like waiting in line. I don’t like spending money. And I don’t like the time it takes. So I have never paid much attention to Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. I’ve usually spent that day with my family, bemoaning the amount we ate the night before, and looking forward to turkey sandwiches for supper. I knew it was the biggest shopping day of... Read more

For those interested, the journal First Things recently published an article of mine. It is available at http://firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=6367 A corresponding interview is available at http://www.firstthings.com/blog/2008/10/22/interview-becker-on-babies-perfect-and-imperfect/ Read more

Our small group at church is studying the book of Isaiah. We read chapter one a few weeks ago, and I was struck by the emphasis on helping the widows and the fatherless. The prophet writes, “Stop doing wrong, learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow” (Isaiah 1:16-18). Later on in the chapter, the prophet excoriates those who fail to defend the fatherless and the widow.... Read more

Almost every day, I tell Penny, our two-year old, to “listen with your ears.” For some reason, that four word phrase is more effective than the shorter command, “listen.” It makes it more concrete, I suppose, to identify listening with a part of her body. So as she tottered away from me this morning, naked, carrying the clothes she was supposed to be putting on, I finally said, “Penny, listen with your ears and turn around.” It stopped her in... Read more

William is 2 1/2 weeks old. He has gained almost two pounds since birth, and he has grown nearly two inches. He is beautiful–slate gray eyes and a full head of dark hair and pouty lips and long, delicate fingers and toes. He has a cleft in his chin that reminds me of his dad. He smiles when he sleeps. There are idyllic moments every day–when he nurses and coos, milk dribbling out of the corner of his mouth… when... Read more

We spend our summers in Madison, Connecticut. I forget the peacefulness of this place every year until we drive up and see the water and smell the salty air and feel the breeze. It is what the Celtic Christians called a thin place—a place where heaven and earth touch, where God seems more readily present, more easily accessed. It is easier here to pray, especially prayers of praise and of gratitude. It is easier to carve out time to read... Read more