Good Grief, Multiplied
A dear friend has died. She gave her life to her family, her friends, her church, her God. She had given everything but the last of herself, and now she has given that. In his book, Life of the Beloved, Henri Nouwen says, “In the giving we are chosen, blessed and broken not simply for our own […]
Letting Love Show
Using our bodies may be the most sacred of all things we do on earth. It’s the one thing we are given that is meant to be used wholly for our time here on our earth – our LIFE-time. The greatest testimony of all, beyond the life of our Lord, is our own life as […]
The Power of a Life Well-Lived
In honor and remembrance of John F Rilling, my dad, who would have celebrated his 80th birthday today. Psalm 37:1-6 Fret not yourself because of the wicked, be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you […]
The One Question God will always answer
“If you could ask God one question, what would it be?” That was the bumper sticker on the car next to me. Oh my God. There are so many things that need answers. Why do you allow suffering? Why, death? Why, child abuse? Why, domestic violence and kidnapping and racial strife and executions? Why, pain […]
Love Strong
If we love with heart, soul and mind, is that enough? What about strength? The Pharisees tested Jesus asking, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And […]
In the Name of the Father
“I hate that part,” my neighbor tells me. The end part. The part where you watch them slip deeper and deeper into the abyss, and you stand by, because you must. Someone must; they could not, should not, do this alone. And you care for their physical needs. You attend to their mental faculties. You […]
Burqa Baby
The woman sitting near me is a mother. I know because she is carrying a child with beautiful dark eyes. The eyes are all I can see. Tiny hands wrap around mother’s waist. Tiny toes spread as far as they can, brushing against each other in their suspension. This gaze somehow haunts me. Burqa baby’s […]
Be Their Healing
My mother was dearly beloved by her maternal grandfather, John K. Leigh, or so my grandmother told me. Doted over, actually, and perhaps a bit spoiled. Apparently, he gave her whatever she asked. “There was one thing she wouldn’t ask for,” Mamma told me. “She really wanted a horse, but she knew he couldn’t give […]
A Bowl of Cold Water
Our husky is old and on his last legs. Well, 3 of those legs. The fourth doesn’t work well any more. In fact, it’s more hindrance than help. His poor arthritic hip rotates in and, in his attempts at ambulation, takes him far afield. What used to be a straight line sees him 90 degrees off […]
Father, Mayday is Calling
A man I love side-stepped death. No one expected him to come through, but he did. I would say it was by the grace of God. But he wouldn’t. He would say, “Guess my time wasn’t up.” For him, living and dying are two sides of a card. When the Great Hand flips it, you […]