Lord, teach me. . . .

  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...