I was recently pulled over by a police officer. To add insult to injury, I had a car full of middle school students I was driving home from youth group. A couple of my kids and a couple more for good measure. It has been over a decade since I was last pulled over, and…
Our footsteps echoed on the wooden planks as we left the riverbank and stepped out over the water. The old walking bridge had stretched across that expanse of dark river for as long as the townspeople could remember. Several generations had held hands and stood right there in the center of the bridge, watching the…
“Thank you for being here. It means so much to me.” Her words pulsed with an unspoken yearning to believe I was there on purpose, just for her. I was dumbfounded. I was serving on a Kairos weekend at the women’s state prison, and until five minutes ago, we didn’t know each other. Or rather,…
Summer camp was an annual adventure when I was growing up. Something about a week in a cabin full of girls my age was so enchanting. Like most of us who’ve had this experience, I always left with a set of newfound best friends who promised to stay in touch. Inevitably, we didn’t, but those…
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matthew 5:9 NIV) I grew up thinking that peacemakers were rare, sentient beings. I envisioned Mother Teresa at the highest level, living a life of poverty to care for the world’s most needy. I thought of women like my grandmother, who smiled and…
Several years ago, I worked in a hospital emergency room, greeting patients and families as they entered the ER. My responsibility was to see that everyone was as comfortable as possible while waiting for treatment. Just a few months into my employment, I began to know our “regulars.” These were folks whose emotional pain was…