Lord, teach me. . . .

  Inside myself is a place where I live all alone, and that is where I renew my springs that never dry up. –Pearl S. Buck   The past two years (at least) have been exhausting, haven’t they? We had a pandemic that physically left us anxious and afraid. Our churches, where we go for nourishment, were closed or online longer than we wanted—and even now, we are careful. Politically, we have been divided against one another, and those wounds are still bleeding in many cases. We need to take care of ourselves. And it’s never been more difficult. What to do? How do I make time in our busy schedules—for me ? The simple answer: Whatever it takes. Remember when we would fly to a vacation destination? How the flight attendant would remind us that if the cabin loses pressure, the oxygen masks would drop down out of the ceiling? And that before we offer to help anyone else, we need to have our own masks in place ? Good advice for life in general. Today: Pause. Take inventory ...

  Festivals promote diversity, they bring neighbors into dialog, they increase creativity, they offer opportunities for civic pride, they improve our general psychological well-being. In short, they make cities better places to live. –David Binder   This weekend is Pride Weekend in many cities, including mine. Some years, we have gone to watch the parade. One year, folks invited us to walk with their church group—so we did. And I am so grateful. I will always remember. . . . A parade like this always looks different from the ranks than from the sidelines. From the sidelines, we never would have seen the Guardian Angels. Every year, every Pride Parade draws groups that try to spread a vile message of hate from the sidelines. In Cleveland, they are required to have a permit, and are confined to a particular spot along the route (thank goodness). And every time these folks show up with their messages of hate, the Guardian Angels bring Love. Dressed in white, with what...

  Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. –Leo Buscaglia Ever wonder what God is doing? (All the time. . . .) I mean, we learn from the Bible and from our Sunday school teachers that we are made in God’s likeness, so we turn that around to mean if we have eyes, then God must have eyes, and if we have ears, God must have ears. Right? So why is it, then, that so often when we pray, it feels like God just doesn’t seem to be listening? Or if God is listening, then God must not really care, after all? It seems that way, doesn’t it, when all we want is peace of mind, peace of spirit, peace for the whole world—and we keep speaking the same prayers, over and over. Maybe God just needs to hear them one more time , or by one more person . . . . Do you really believe this? That God is waiting for our prayers to hit a magic num...

  No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the human spirit. –Helen Keller In popular science fiction and fantasy movies, there is always a portal, some unseen opening that allows the main characters to travel from one time or place to another, arriving unexpectedly. You know. In Harry Potter , it’s Platform 9-3/4. In A Wrinkle in Time , the amazing tesseract literally causes a fold in the space time continuum. The wonder is, when they arrive elsewhere, frequently it is as if no one even notices or questions how they got there ! There are, I believe, portals God uses in the world, places God shows up completely unexpected—and in that moment, we don’t even notice. These portals give us glimpses of God’s perfection, that’s ours to be embraced, not just in the hereafter, but in the here-and-now. God’s portals are everywhere. Places where the goodness of God’s spirit, flowing from willing hands and hearts,...

  Prayer as an articulate way of being useless in the face of God brings a smile to all we do and creates humor in the midst of our occupations and preoccupations. –Henri J. M. Nouwen   Sometimes, when our lives become so filled with busy , prayer can begin to feel like just one more task we need to do. Pray those words; offer those needs. Check that box and get back to work. Truth is, prayer is far, far more than that. Prayer can (and should) be a time to rest, set aside the cares and concerns of the world, and try to simply be . Do nothing. Let God frame the space, and in being of no use to the world for a time, we again realize just how valuable we are to the One who created us! It’s true. As much as it might feel like we should be the one driving our prayer time, quiet moments become far more enjoyable when we allow God to take the wheel (or Jesus J ). Whether you can handle an hour, or barely ten minutes, set aside time every day, if possible, to rest in s...

  I remember a story about a Rabbi during a natural disaster. He was asked how he could explain such a tragic act of God. The Rabbi answered that the disaster was an act of nature. The act of God occurred when people stepped up to help each other. –Jerry Butcher If you are really looking for answers, it just might be that God isn’t the best place to start. On the one hand, believers (like me) will tell you there is a Being, Something that is, indeed, all-powerful. But then the skeptic, or realist, will ask a question like the one above. How can a truly all-powerful god allow stuff like wars, and famines, and even pandemics to happen on their watch? I think the key word there is allow . As human beings, we cannot have both a large and completely in-charge God and free will to control our own lives day to day. Because I have a sense of God’s Spirit at work in my own life, I truly believe when things like wars and famines and even pandemics happen, God’s heart breaks, ...

  The waiting is the hardest part. –Tom Petty   We spend a lot of time waiting. Waiting for the coffee to finish dripping. Waiting for the light to turn green. Waiting for the next available agent. It’s inevitable, really. We cannot always be first, and if we aren’t first, we’ll have to wait. But I think the more important thing is to ask yourself: How am I at waiting? Do I find myself getting anxious and fidgety? Am I worrying about things not going the way I really need them to go? Is my attitude rubbing off on people around me? The best way to wait is not to worry where we are in line, or gripe about wasted time. The best way to wait—is to be right there , in the moment of waiting. The disciples waited in fear; we wait in hope. Why not use this waiting time to pray? Welcome God’s presence into your heart. Ask God to bring you into the moment. Inquire what God would ask of you in this moment . Thank God for wisdom, patience, humor. . . . Take a d-e...

  When I admire the wonders of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in the worship of the Creator. –Mahatma Gandhi As people of God, we are drawn to worship and to prayer. Right? So why is it, then, that prayer can seem so difficult at times? We come together from our busy lives, gathering in our houses of worship to praise and to pray. The praise part seems to come naturally. After all, there’s music and exhortation from the worship leaders to engage us. Then the time comes to pray. Silent prayer seems terminally long sometimes. And spoken prayer—well, please , let’s leave that to “the professionals.” Please don’t ask me to pray aloud! Even Jesus’ disciples asked for help there. Lord , they pleaded, teach us to pray . And he did—but the words we know as The Lord’s Prayer were not really intended for memorization; rather, Jesus was offering a method . A way to pray, no matter the situation. A more contemporary idea: the word PRAY can be seen as an a...

  If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water. –Loren Eiseley A friend recently asked about preserving water from the River Jordan, so it wouldn’t go all skanky (a theological term) before a few drops were added to the baptismal font each time. Someone suggested freezing the water in ice cube trays, then thawing one or two for each baptism. Smart, right? Then he continued to offer this reflection: While it is symbolically cool to add a few drops from the river where Jesus was baptized to our modern day ceremony, it really isn’t necessary, because at some point, every drop of water on earth has passed through the River Jordan. How about that. Every drop of water, throughout all time. The water that courses as blood through or veins was once part of the Nile, or even Lake Superior. Talk about an effective recycling program. For me, not only is this a wonderful, mind-boggling observation; it also connects us, one to another, over the course of history, furth...

  Economy, prudence and a simple life are the sure masters of need, and will often accomplish that which their opposites, with a fortune at hand, will fail to do. –Clara Barton   I was thinking yesterday about the Thrift Shop we have in the basement of our church. Everything there is freely donated by members and friends of the church. The shop has no costs to run it; the church pays its utilities, and volunteers operate the shop. Prices are extremely low; in many cases, the ladies will take very needy guests on a “shopping spree” and allow them to choose several items at no cost. (It’s a great Thrift Shop, and if you haven’t visited it yet, I highly recommend it.) So then I got to thinking about God’s Reign, and our role in it. Everything we have is a gift from God. Everything . God give God’s Love so freely, the Psalmist says, that we shall not want. When we have extra, then, shouldn’t we open our hearts and our hands and freely give to those whose needs are greater...

  A family is a risky venture, because the greater the love, the greater the loss. . . .  That’s the trade-off. But I’ll take it all. –Brad Pitt In our modern world, a family can take many different forms. What was once “traditionally” defined as a mother, father and 2.2 children is now much, much more. The intricate, colorful tapestry we weave with our lives becomes bolder and more brilliant, at once unique and diverse—and constantly changing. The cycle is remarkable, if we think about it. We come in to the world helpless and hungry, wriggling and wailing, completely dependent on a grownup for—well, for everything. Left to their own devices, infants don’t stand a chance. What matters? Love matters, because loving leads to caring. As that infant begins to grow, to change and spread her wings, her mantra becomes I can do it myself! Trials, successes—and failures—are daily occurrences. What matters? Love matters, love enough to let that child learn and grow (and fail...

  For us, the greatest temptation is to lose touch with the Blessing. We are beloved Sons and Daughters of God. –Henri Nouwen Sometimes, Life is rough. Things don’t always go as we planned. (Heck—things often don’t go as we planned!) Our instinct as humans is to beat ourselves up over every little thing. Somehow, we think, if we had only done things differently, it would all have turned out better. And from there, we begin to convince ourselves that we are not good enough, or smart enough, or whatever.  Stop it. That is not true. God loves you. Period. Just as you are, right here, right now. You do not have to change anything or do anything to “make” God love you—and just knowing that should make you want to share that Good News with others, whether with words of love and caring, or gifts of food, clothing or warm socks. God loves you. Believe it. But don’t keep it a secret! Go—tell it on a mountain! Monday  Not everyone has a safe, warm place to stay in...

  A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives. –Jackie Robinson   Here in Cleveland, we have a local meteorologist who is really good (in my opinion). Betsy is funny, articulate—and accurate , at least as much as any meteorologist can be. This winter has been a doozie everywhere, and Betsy has helped us make sense and remember what matters. As a winter storm approaches, Betsy will tell us the anticipated totals of snowfall, freezing rain or whatever, and then remind us: Folks, it’s not the inches that matter. It’s how the inches affect our getting around. Focus on the impact , not numbers . Impact, not numbers. An inch of freezing rain can really complicate things; an inch of snow, not so much. Similarly, I think we need to refocus our thinking about our churches, as well. So many churches tend to focus on getting more butts in the pews. We need people ! Especially families with young children ! A successful church is often seen as the one tha...

  Out of the fires of desperation burn Hope and Solidarity. –Sharan Burrows   Let’s face it: We are living in challenging times. For two years , we have lived strange, isolated lives, held hostage by the coronavirus. In recent days, war has loomed large over Eastern Europe, especially Ukraine. Add to that the ongoing climate anomalies that aren’t nearly as anomalistic as they used to be: devastating forest fires, hurricanes that are far more intense and extensive than they used to be; rising floods around the world. It’s sad. It’s horrifying. And—it can be overwhelming. As a person of faith, I feel called to prayer. But my God, there is so much ! I can’t even. . . . In his letter to the church at Rome, Paul exhorts his congregation, when their lives seem oh, so overwhelming, to allow the Spirit to pray for them. Maybe things are so jumbled in your mind, there are no words to pray. Or maybe the words come so fast and so furious, it all seems like a big old bowl of a...

  One way to define spiritual life is getting so tired and fed up with yourself you go on to something better, which is following Jesus. –Eugene H. Peterson I’m sure you are familiar with the popular poem about walking along the beach with Jesus, and seeing two sets of footprints in the sand, but only one set during the really difficult challenges of life. And when questioned, Jesus replies My child, it was then that I carried you . It’s a comforting image, especially when one is having a lousy day or two. But if you think about it, if we are truly seeking to be disciples of the Christ, there should always be only one set of footprints. And the tracks we see should be those of Jesus. Imagine a fresh snowfall in the woods. It’s pretty deep, and you haven’t got your snow boots. Someone has gone ahead of you—just one brave soul who knows the way—and left clear tracks for you to follow if you choose. It’s a good path, so you step gingerly into the first boot print, then the n...

  I’m not everybody’s cup of tea. But sometimes criticism can be hurtful. I’m a good piano player. I can sing well. I write good songs. If you don’t like it, fair enough. But give me a break. –Elton John When I was in sixth grade, long before the internet, there were slam books. Do you remember slam books? Spiral notebooks with someone’s name written on each page. If you were in the book, you were assigned a number, so you could comment on other people anonymously, be brutally honest what you thought about them. I remember when I first dared to go to my page and see what people wrote. I already knew I wasn’t one of the popular kids, but I had no idea how mean other people could be, even my “friends.” She’s smart, but I hate her hair! She’s friends with [that other girl]. How pathetic! I remember asking one of my friends, who was also one of the popular kids, how she could be so mean. Oh, it doesn’t mean anything. Everybody does it. Except God. God never had a slam boo...

  We tend to forget that baby steps, no matter how small, still move you forward. –Anonymous As a child, I remember playing a game we called Mother, May I ? One person stood with their back to everyone else, and everyone else was at the far end of the gym. “Mother” would invite someone, for instance, to take three giant steps forward . Before moving, we had to ask: Mother, May I? If we forgot to ask, it meant we had to go all the way back to the beginning. The goal was to be the first to get home to Mother. Sometimes, people would get upset because Mother would only tell us to take one bay step forward . That’s not fair! How can we get anywhere with only baby steps ??? But sometimes, that’s the very best way to move forward. If the walks are slippery . . . if we are trying a new food . . . even if we are setting out on a new spiritual discipline. Baby steps may be exactly what’s called for! As Lent draws near, many folks might decide they’re going to read the whole Bi...

  Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones. –Benjamin Franklin   A French physiologist is credited as the first to tell us, You are what you eat. The computer-age equivalent of this is Garbage In; Garbage Out . Whatever goes into my mouth has a direct effect on how my body and mind looks and feels and functions. It seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it?  The same holds true of our “spiritual bellies.” Whatever we feed our spirit day after day after day forms and shapes the way we view the world around us. It influences how we grow to interact with our fellow travelers on this journey called Life . As Christians, we are instructed to feed our spirit on whatever is true, noble, right, pure and lovely ( Philippians 4:8 ), and to cultivate the fruits of the spirit ( Galatians 5:28 ). These are the things we need to grow stronger in our faith and more Christ-like in our walk. By contrast, t...

  The essence of the beautiful is unity in variety. –Felix Mendelssohn   It is impossible to go through life without having favorites . I am most definitely a cat person. I appreciate the way my cat Howard settles down next to my leg, rests his chin on my shin and purrs. It is almost as if he is willing any sadness or pain to leave my body. But as for protecting us? Not so much. A burglar could come in and pretty much do whatever he desires, and Howard would most likely join Tucker under the bed, terrified. (Move over, boys. Me, too!) A dog, however, could bark and raise a ruckus. And when you’re sad, a dog can look deep in your eyes and seemingly understand it all. (If only they could be litter box trained. . . .) And if we didn’t have room for even a cat, or if we were allergic to furry critters, goldfish or even birds are viable options as companions. Not my first choice, or even second or third, but many folks prefer them over other, cuddlier pets. Point is: our...