shattered dreams
A friend had been working at a job he loved for many years when he was suddenly laid off. He took another position at a new company, but the work was not as fulfilling and didn’t pay well. Then the first employer asked him to return, which he did with joy. Sadly, he and most of the workforce were again laid off just 7 days later. The other company wouldn’t take him back, and he’s now working a menial, low-paying job. His dreams of having a position he needs and loves have been shattered.
far from home
On the day I graduated from college, my sister was on a trip in the same state with her high school class. She wanted to celebrate with me and—fortunately—a chaperone was willing to drive her 6.5 hours north to my school. But as they drove away from the hotel, they headed south. Obviously, neither of them had a strong inner compass. For it was several hours later—after they entered a scenic area deep in the southern region of the state—that they knew something was amiss.
lost in the dark
Last March, the Ecuadorian navy rescued 18-year-old Adrian Vasquez after he had aimlessly floated 28 days across the ocean on a 10-foot schooner. He had gone fishing with two friends, but as they headed toward shore the motor failed. Vasquez’s friends soon died from exposure and hunger. When he was found, the fortunate teen was 600 miles from home. He was clinging to life and completely disoriented. “He was quiet, looking lost,” the navy captain said. Vasquez asked for a phone to call his mother and to call his boss in order to explain why he’d been absent.
questions
A recent televised interview captured my attention. The author of a controversial book kept responding to questions by saying, “That’s a great question.” And then he would orbit that “great question” without ever landing on an answer.
Jesus surely frustrated the “interviewers” who came to see Him in Matthew 21. “By what authority are you doing all these things?” they…
when God seems silent
I’ve been going through something. Exactly what, I don’t fully understand right now. My faith that I once thought was so strong has seemed to dwindle away. Or maybe I didn’t have as much as I thought and this is a test to show me that I need more faith, to trust God more.
Sometimes I feel that God speaks…
when God ignores
Michael felt as if his prayers were simply bouncing off the ceiling. He couldn’t understand God’s silence. Day after day he pleaded with Him to deal with the injustice in his workplace. But evil persisted, and God seemed absent.
Can you identify with Michael? Habakkuk could. He lived during the final dark days of Judah—just before the captivity of her…
dazed and confused
Following an early flight to France, my friends and I boarded a train to Paris. In a fog of jet lag, we disembarked somewhere underneath the city and yanked our luggage up a long stairway. Finally we emerged into the sunlight like a family of sleepy moles. That’s when we realized the surrounding streets were absent from our map. English…
