The trunk of the tree by my house matches the pavement, which are both in the same color palette as the sky. Even the greens are gray. I find it fitting that the last "Alleluias" are receding from the airwaves as Jesus' Transfiguration makes way for Ash Wednesday. "Remember from dust you came and to… Continue reading Lenten Spring
Category: Wheaton
City in Illinois where we lived from 1993-2010.
The Splendor of Grace
Increasingly, these days, I find myself crying “Lord, have mercy.” I no longer find it very helpful to distinguish whether the emphasis of my cry is for me or for another. Somehow, as I get older, I find the veil between others and myself gets thinner. I ache for marriages that are so terribly difficult—so… Continue reading The Splendor of Grace
Moon and Lamp
Back on Monhegan Island, Maine, I chose the back bedroom because it had a desk overlooking a path filled withflowers. The other two rooms were oceanside-with breath-taking views. But my window ledge was inches from my pillow on the bottom bunkbed, and after I covered the well-worn wood with a bandana and set out my… Continue reading Moon and Lamp
Grace is a Person
It shifted in a moment. Heaven made robes for earth. An animal was killed and skinned, and its blood saturated the earth. The skins were handed to two people who suddenly knew too much about vulnerability and nothing but a dim reminder of the innocence with which they began that day. They were terrified. But the Lord God had… Continue reading Grace is a Person
The Wisdom of a Scribe
Today I had two encounters about speaking the truth in love. In both conversations the parties were wrestling with the burden of carrying wisdom that others were not yet ready to hear. What is the good of wisdom if it is not immediately transferable? We read Jesus’ brief parable: “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of… Continue reading The Wisdom of a Scribe
Our Sun and Shield
This morning I sat out in my garden–well, to be accurate, I sat bundled up in my garden, with a crocheted shawl flung around my head, a tartan plaid enveloping my shoulders and a old fleecy blanket tucked around my knees. But I was IN my garden, hearing the birds, feeling the wind, enjoying the beauty of a long-yearned… Continue reading Our Sun and Shield
Ponderings and Good Soil
Mary is not only reflective during her 9 months of waiting. She is a ponderer--holding her experience close to her heart and waiting to see what it all might mean. Her reflections burst into joy with Elizabeth, but remain hidden when, later Mary treasures up what the shepherds have said and ponders their meaning in… Continue reading Ponderings and Good Soil
Renouncing the Devil
Today is a “go to your cell, and your cell will tell you everything” day. But it took me years to discover what I was supposed to be doing in that cell, and I thought if I opened the door a crack, it might give others a greater insight into some of the common dynamics to cell dwelling. Yesterday… Continue reading Renouncing the Devil
Roadside Art
Lobster nets on Mohegan Island, Maine The "lobsta" fishermen on Mohegan Island, Maine, take life not as "a problem to be solved, but a medium for creation" (Dorothy Savers, The Mind of the Maker) to a whole new level. During their off-season (which, for reasons of state politics, was already in effect by the beginning… Continue reading Roadside Art
Scars
Most of us have them. I remember receiving my first one as I split open my left knee while jumping on the thin ice of a not-yet-completely-frozen puddle in rural Minnesota. While my doctor dad stitched up his first grade daughter I simultaneously received verbal instruction on why we don’t jump on icy puddles. I don’t know how… Continue reading Scars
Carla Waterman 