Our culture seems to run on tropes, mottos and trite bromides. Cute household signs are one thing, but empty platitudes that fail the common-sense test are another. Many popular slogans offer nonsensical advice such as, “you can be anything you want to be” (anything?), “follow your bliss” (what if that’s heroin?), and “manifest it into existence” (try manifesting someone back from the dead). Here’s another: “God will never give me more than I can handle.” But…is that true?
Continue ReadingGetting to Heaven
Recently I had an outpatient procedure involving fast-acting anesthesia. As the anesthesiologist put the medicine in my IV line, she said it might burn a bit. Less than 5 seconds later, I remember a tingly sensation as though I were fading away like Homer Simpson disappearing into the shrubs, or Captain Kirk dissolving into millions of energy particles in the Enterprise transporter. When I awoke it seemed like only moments had passed.
Continue ReadingSeasons of Change
Autumn is the quintessential season of change. A chill is the air, backyard bonfires fill our noses with the smell of smoke and leaves turn beautiful shades of yellow, orange and red. Then they fall, creating dry, crunchy piles on the ground, leaving stark profiles of empty, barren trees. It’s a beautiful time, or perhaps a melancholy time for those of us reluctant to let go of summer.
Continue ReadingGod’s Good Plans Are Better Than Our Best
Lately my husband and I have been talking about life plans, goals and ambition with our grown children. They’re all young adults moving at various stages along their own individual paths of independence. Each is considering various options for the future, pondering what comes next.
Continue ReadingA Funeral and a Wedding
Arranged on the shelf above my desk are various photos of my dad, along with a family picture of my husband and me with our 3 young (at the time) children. A small flowery sign in the center of the pictures reads “wish you were here.” We lost my dad last summer after a difficult battle with Alzheimer’s Disease.
Continue ReadingBetter Things Ahead
Time has been on my mind a lot lately. I find myself contemplating how fast it goes and how much things change. I realize how true this is because so much is different now than just 5 years ago, while 15 years ago seems like a different lifetime altogether. Memories make it possible to evaluate the force of time upon our lives; they are windows into what transpired.
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