I wrote this piece in the middle of the night. I don’t know what you are going through in life. Perhaps you are facing steep challenges and deep depression. Holidays have a way of triggering sorrow, not just joy for me. As my family and I are now nearing two years since my adult son endured a catastrophic brain injury, I take increasing comfort in knowing that God can make a heaven out of hell, even while leading us home.... Read more

I just returned from the AAR/SBL religion conference in Denver. There I learned or relearned something of lasting import. It took place before I had even set foot in the conference proceedings. Here’s what it was: giving thanks for life’s bare necessities really helps one bear with life’s great challenges and experience contentment. No, it’s not a point that soars to the heights of rocket science or plunges to the depths of mystical inquiry. But it helps me hold my... Read more

This blog post is about disaster spirituality, which is not the same thing as disastrous spirituality. The thrust of this reflection is that we should never let a personal or interpersonal crisis go to waste. How do we respond or react to personal disasters? Winston Churchill may have been the first to utter the words, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Thought leaders and media personalities across the spectrum have also employed similar language both to promote or... Read more

Memory is a great and powerful mystery that can impact our lives for good or for ill. St. Augustine writes about memory in his Confessions: “Great is the power of memory, an awe-inspiring mystery, my God, a power of profound and intimate multiplicity…So great is the power of memory, so great is the force of life in a human being whose life is mortal.” Memories often shape our present and future. They constitute our being in various ways. The biological... Read more

I remember standing in front of our kitchen window looking out at the backyard early one morning. It was shortly after my son Christopher endured a traumatic brain injury that required emergency surgery in January 2021. All of a sudden, I cried out, quoting Peter’s words to Jesus: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68; NIV). Where else was I to go but to Jesus in my time of crisis? I did... Read more

Our secular age may lead us to think guardian angels belong to an outdated, medieval outlook on life. But I beg to differ. I know guardian angels who disguise themselves as medical staff at my son’s care facility. One of them is a nurse, whom Christopher’s mother calls his “Second Mom.” That’s high praise coming from my wife. My daughter who is studying to be a nurse texted me in response to “Second Mom’s” recent update on Christopher: “She’s absolutely... Read more

Have you ever had to serve as someone else’s mouthpiece? It can be a real mouthful as you try your best to represent them and their situation. Serving as a mouthpiece or advocate has been my wife’s and my lot since our adult son Christopher endured a traumatic brain injury in January 2021. There are so many complexities and intricacies. It’s enough to make you choke. The subject of “mouthpiece” came up in my reading of Exodus recently. God calls... Read more

I take great comfort from the conviction that God will not allow evil to have the last word. God brings good out of evil. This theme appears throughout Scripture. One of the most well-known texts along such lines is Joseph telling his brothers that what they meant for harm God meant for good to save many lives. For those who are not familiar with their sibling rivalry (which is a gross understatement!), Joseph’s brothers envied him and wanted to kill... Read more

Mental toughness and a determination to keep grinding it out according to a sound though flexible game plan while adhering to fundamentals can make a big difference. It is true in sports and it is true in life. Take for example the “Rain Game” between the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers at Soldier Field in Chicago last Sunday. The conditions were horrible. Both teams had a very difficult time with moving the ball at various points in the contest.... Read more

Today I look back on the legacy of Queen Elizabeth, rescue workers who gave their lives on 9/11, and my late dad. A word that marks each one of them is “duty.” A royal confidant wrote the following reflections in honor of Queen Elizabeth who passed away on September 8th: Because I have met her — because, at close quarters, I have observed her as she carried out a range of her official duties — people often ask me, leaning... Read more