Lord, teach me. . . .

If your heart is right, then every creature is a mirror of life to you and a book of holy learning, for there is no creature—no matter how tiny or lowly—that does not reveal God’s goodness. –Thomas á Kempis What a tremendous winter we’ve had! Snow on top of snow on top of snow. The piles have grown higher and higher, getting an occasional “freshening up,” and everyone has been driving a grey car. Sometimes it seems it may never end. (“Oh, but it’s so beautiful. . . .”) When it’s all piled up like that, we can lose sight of the fact that that huge “snow sculpture” at the end of my driveway is actually made up of gazillions of teeny, tiny snowflakes. Just goes to show: it really is the little things that make a difference. Our world can be a daunting place. The problems can seem so huge: revolution in Syria; revolt in Kiev; devastating drought in California. Some days, we might shake our heads in despair and wonder. How can I possibly do anything to make a difference in

When we say, "I love you," and say it from the heart,  we can give another person new life, new hope, new courage.  –Henri J. M. Nouwen Parenting is a tough job. We live in a world that screams, “Buy this! You really need that!” And our children and grandchildren see the smiling, happy faces and the bright, cheerful colors, and begin, at some level, to believe the hype: If I can just have the newest PS game, one more Lego set or Barbie doll, I will be really happy! And why shouldn’t they believe it? The grownups in their world get caught up, too. The newest cell phone . . . a shiny new car. . . . Apart from the fact that none of these things will make us happy, many families can’t afford these gadgets, anyway. But we all just want the best for the ones we love. We just want them to be happy. Imagine how God must feel. God understands our desires for more , but weeps because God also knows that if we would simply slow down and look around, God has a

Living is a great deal more than simply not dying. It is carrying out a mission, committing oneself to fashion some meaning that will attain eternity. –Leonardo Boff When asked, “What are you afraid of?” we offer a myriad of answers: snakes, spiders, flying in an airplane. But when pressed, many people, believers and non-believers alike, will admit that the one thing they fear most, at the core of their being, is death. Most of us enjoy having control over our lives, and frankly, we have very little control over, or way of knowing, how or when our earthly journey will end. And we have even fewer concrete answers about what will happen next. We have the profession of our faith and the occasional “crossing-over” story—but. No wonder death is near the top of that list. But sometimes, as I look around, it seems like people are less fearful about dying—and more afraid of living. Really cutting loose and enjoying our time together as human beings privileged to live in God’s am

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant.  If we did not sometimes taste of adversity,  prosperity would not be so welcome.  –Anne Bradstreet In my part of the world, January has been a month of frozen pipes and furnace failures, snow forts and snow rollers. Some days, the cold seems to seep straight into our bones. The sunshine, while brilliant, does little to warm the frozen landscape. It’s been challenging. And we have survived. When have you experienced a “spiritual winter”? A season when, despite brilliance and light all around, our souls feel cold and alone. God seems so very far away, his voice barely a whisper (if we can hear him at all). Spiritual winter comes to each of us, perhaps for a day, a week—or a seemingly interminable stretch. We may feel like something is “wrong” with us, and choose to isolate ourselves, rather than come together in love. Bad choice. We warm one another and draw on each other for strength and light. Just