Canoeing with friends is a relational sport. You drift along, enjoying the scenery and conversing at length with no pressure to beat the traffic or make your next meeting. We spent two summer vacations canoeing the Colorado River through Canyonlands National Park. There were entire days of gazing up at the soaring orange canyon […]
Tag: following jesus
What work isn’t.
When I was nine, my father built a giant sieve to separate stones from the soil. He wanted a lawn back where the yard was still piles of rubble from a construction project. At dinner that night he asked me to help him shovel one of the piles through the sieve. At nine, my idea […]
Calling the plumber.
Imagine arriving home at day’s end to find greasy black liquid spreading across the counter, running down the cabinets onto the floor, and soaking into the hallway carpet. A backed-up kitchen sink on the middle floor of a forty-storied apartment building is neither peaceful nor relaxing. A quick call brought two men running down the […]
The secret of humility.
There’s a quiet presence to humility. It’s gentle. You experience it in butterfly exhibits and hospital rooms. A deference to the other. A gentle touch that affirms dignity. It’s also evident on airplanes when someone stops to help the elderly couple lift their carry-ons into the overhead bin. A fragrance of grace in the urgent aisle. Humility […]
We know we’re not staying, yet we don’t expect to leave.
Long-distance moving seems an apt metaphor for dying. Even when we know we’re going, we never expect to leave. Whether a move is welcome or of necessity, it’s difficult to say goodbye. Deciding what not to bring is stressful, and cultivating new rhythms and relationships takes time. It’s a clumsy bundle of emotions and disruption. Still, […]
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