Last month I had tea with a young woman who was in the small group I describe in the chapter on “Wisdom” in Songs of Assent. As we talked she pulled out a tattered piece of paper, folded so many times it was falling apart. And she said, “Remember this? I was out of the… Continue reading A Few Threads of Wisdom
Category: Songs of Assent
High Storms
"If we would rise to life's worst storms, the formation will not begin in the gale, butin the small puddles that splash at our feet when no one is looking."(Songs of Assent, "Buoyancy,"167) When I was in graduate school my husband and I spent a glorious season exploring the pristine "finger lakes" that fill the… Continue reading High Storms
Anything But Imaginary
I remember standing in front of a class of Wheaton students over a decade ago and saying, “Having ‘a personal relationship with Jesus is easy to talk about, but is often the very reality we struggle to step into.” And I found myself saying something similar to a class of seminarians just last week. At… Continue reading Anything But Imaginary
Christ as Our Shield
Yesterday noon found me sitting in a local diner with one of my “girls.” (My "girls” are women who were students of mine at Wheaton College somewhere in the 90’s.) She is not, of course, a girl anymore, but a lovely young woman in her 30’s with a passion for the Lord and compassion for… Continue reading Christ as Our Shield
Do the Next Thing
I have been watching some new bushes pass through autumn. They held their leaves longer than the cousins next to them, and turned a mellow shade of gold before becoming barren twigs for the winter. On the other side of the garden is a bush that is still brilliant red. Today I wished that I had more than… Continue reading Do the Next Thing
Double Meanings
We know only three things about her: she was on her 6th man (with whom marriage was apparently not an option), she was at the well with her water jar at high noon, and she was a Samaritan. But I think we can imagine one more thing: she was lonely. Intensely lonely. I have now lived… Continue reading Double Meanings
Engaged to Gratitude
Mary is waiting. When Gabriel arrives, she is waiting to marry Joseph. She is engaged, or rather, in more hefty biblical language and meaning, she is betrothed. She is technically married to Joseph. Now she is waiting out the prescribed year of preparation before she goes to live in Joseph's house as Joseph's wife. But… Continue reading Engaged to Gratitude
Like A Tree
Receptivity by Pamela Keske
Ravens
National Park Service photo As we drove up to our place on Lake Superior, we were greeted by a large raven who had taken dominion over the doorway. He had found something to eat, and wasn’t yielding the ground without coaxing. Tenacious old bird. And then, this morning, I read these amazing words of Jesus, “fear… Continue reading Ravens
Faith, Hope and Love
I cannot imagine a world without faith, hope and love. We would be left without the inheritance of spiritual gifts to make sense of life, press into life, and embrace the goodness of life. For this is what faith, hope and love, the gifts of our birthright in Christ, offer to us. Christian faith speaks… Continue reading Faith, Hope and Love
Carla Waterman 