I love Communion. I love the sanctifying aspect of it, the connection to Christ crucified through the observance of the Last Supper. I love the introspection we are called to engage in, which leads to confession, repentance, and grace. Communion has always felt deeply spiritual to me, which is probably why I cringed the first…
I was wrapped snugly in my winter coat and PJs, hot chocolate steaming in my mug. My three brothers and I were stuffed into my mom’s light-blue station wagon like sardines in a can. Two of us facing forward while the other two in the “way back” faced each other, we pulled out of our…
The summer before I turned fifteen, I went to a Christian camp with my youth group. Although it was a wonderful experience, one wherein I began to develop my own faith, my adolescence was still steeped in drama and self-centeredness. I made it clear to God that I needed to hear from him personally that…
My precious nine-month-old daughter was wailing. I mean, totally out of control. She’d been battling ear infections and new teeth and all the things babies hate. We followed the usual bedtime routines, and still she could not settle. She was gasping and hiccupping and looking desperately at her daddy, as if to say, “Please, could…
Wounded. That’s the word I would choose to characterize my heart this last year. At every turn, these twelve months have ushered in the breathtaking loss of hopes and dreams, expectations, relationships, and stability. I’ve said good-bye to more than I ever could have imagined. But amid great loss, God did an extraordinary thing in…
In 2004 I arrived. It was the year I accomplished everything on my wish list. After my high school graduation, I packed up my red Chevy Cavalier and headed to the city. I shook the small-town dust off my Birkenstocks and marched full speed toward my dreams. I pursued my degree with unequivocal focus. I…