idk
Almost everyone loves to hear stories of God “showing up.” We feel trapped by circumstances, we pray in desperation, and a providential answer arrives just in time. We know it’s God, and it’s easy to praise Him—for a while.
faith at the finish
She burned down her house and lives off the land in Africa. Her name is Jja Ja Nakibuuka. Leprosy has claimed her fingers and toes. She owns nothing, so children sometimes offer her food and small presents. When she greets the children and their mothers, Jja Ja Nakibuuka always says the same thing: “God is good, and He is coming back.”
saying goodbye
Today I told my friend Jen goodbye. Having met her a year ago, I liked her from the first time I interviewed her for a teaching position in our department. I soon realized we were twins born 8 years apart—she too keeps bananas in her freezer forever and has a sensitive heart. Witty, bright, strong—and unafraid to cry—Jen embraces life with passion. I’ll miss her dearly as she begins a new life with her husband in a different city and state. As unexpectedly as our paths crossed, they now divide.
Shepherd in the shadows
A fretful parishioner once came to a famous preacher’s office, feeling disturbed and frightened. “Two men are following me everywhere I go,” she said. Because he was aware of the woman’s overactive imagination, the preacher said kindly, “Oh, I know exactly who these men are.” “Who?” she asked. “They are goodness and mercy,” he replied.
in the shadows
I know a couple who have just had their third miscarriage. In two of those painful losses, they’ve held a perfectly formed, lifeless little body in their hands. While there’s much light in this world—beauty, goodness, joy—there are also the shadows of sadness, evil, and suffering.
no fish story
Why is God so big on judgment? Perhaps a better question is: Why is God so patient with us?
bwana asifiwe!
Bwana asifiwe!” is Swahili for Praise the Lord! As I traveled from the dry place of Tala to the slums of Kawangare to the densely populated and dangerous ghetto of Korogocho in Kenya, this is the way every believer greeted me.
history’s steady tune
George Jellinek, former host of The Vocal Scene radio program, says “the history of a people is found in its songs.” Years ago, music was a crucial way for slaves in the US to recount their stories, and music was central to the way the Civil Rights movement retold its vision. If you want to know a culture or its people, you have to know the music they used to pass along their stories. This is how the people in ancient Israel used the Psalms—their stories and prayers helped them to remember God, particularly in the long years when God was silent.
ambushed
Nell and Jim were hiking in a park when a mountain lion ambushed them, attacking Jim. His wife Nell tried stabbing the animal with a pen. When that didn’t work, she beat the lion with a log until it backed off completely!
Most of us will never have to fight off a wild beast, but we may need to defend…
