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May wonder disarm you. May stillness burrow into your being. May grace intrude to soften hard edges        of giving and receiving care. And may the holy bewitch you,        in the midst of all               your messy wholeness.

The term ally implies I am not directly involved.I am not an allybecause it is not so simple as black and white. because this is not a war, not an us vs. them.The struggle is this: us vs. us, freedoms and futures intertwined like roots of plantsgrown in the same pot.

This post is inspired by a question from a friend. I experienced trauma in my childhood. Beginning in college, I have done footwork, with help, to heal those wounds. My friend knows this history, and so asked me what helps when past trauma makes itself known in the...

This post was originally published 11 September 2019 here under the title "Death: A Holy Interruption." Death interrupts us. This is what death does. Unafraid to break into our lives, it comes, and not when we expect it. It comes when it is ready. That time may or may...

held in place by gracefragile-seeminglaughing at gravityeven as I toppleinto a heapneeding once moreto be made anewby a power greaterthan myself.

One of the comments I received on “Our Nation” referenced the question, “How do we reclaim our humanity?” The commenter reflected that the breadth of humanity includes all the ways we are destructive and demeaning, that in our politics we show the entirety of what it...

“How do we reclaim our humanity?” When I wrote that sentence in “Our Nation,” I used the word “humanity” to mean humane - compassionate, considerate, gentle. How do we make America humane again? Were we ever truly humane? We* have a long history of inhumane acts and...

We. Such a simple word, and yet it can be slippery and difficult. It can be used to include or exclude, to harm or to heal. The English language is ambiguous on whether the listener has belonging within the spoken ‘we’. In my last blog post, I wrote of the people of...

I’ve been trying to figure out how to write this for a while now. The war in Ukraine is soaking up media attention, and rightly so. And yet, here in the US, we still have domestic difficulties. These are my first thoughts. I will be writing more soon. I am concerned...

I moved recently. One of my new neighbors engages in a Behavior which displeases me. When I become aware of their engagement in this Behavior, my blood pressure rises, I become tense, and I begin to fantasize various ways for them to Be Gone. I dream up how they could...

Before I risehe hops up onto the bed,nestles in against my chest. This feelingis comfortable, familiar. Soft dark fur in the crook of my arm,a warm belly, toe beans between my fingers.

I used to work in a behavioral health hospital. It was interesting and challenging work. Most of the time, things were relatively quiet. There were days, though. Sometimes patients acted out violently toward another patient or toward staff. Sometimes patients shared...

In one of her songs, Carolyn Arends wrote, “every day is new years day.” The idea being we can start over, begin anew, whenever we like. We don’t have to wait for some prescribed date. I appreciate this sentiment. I also see the value in marking the new year. It is a...

They saywinter is like death,the stillness beforethe new life of spring. They saywinter is the end of things. They are rightand wrong. Before the crocus emergesin the spring,it has been restingand metabolizingand readying for its journeyto the surface. Our own...

Last week, I wrote about symbols which people react to. I talked about how a toothbrush stood in for communication difficulties, and a TV was a symbol for lack of influence over one’s environment. I’ve been thinking about my own use of symbols as stand-ins for what I...

One of my seminary professors once told us the story of when he neglected to inform his wife that he would be out of the country for 10 days. He came home from the trip to find his wife, irate and holding his toothbrush. Her first words to him were, “You took my...

“The invitation,” Diane said, “is to listen for what message your soul needs for this season.” I and the other retreat participants were then invited to choose a piece of wood and paint that message onto the board. Paint?! I am not a color person. Figuring out what...

Earlier this month, I voted. I made my preferences known regarding local races and issues. I placed my drop in the bucket. This is what voting feels like - a minuscule contribution which I hope will be worth the effort. I hope others join in engaging in the democratic...

If you were to come to our house for a meal, you may hear this line: “Bless those we love and those we don’t.” These words are a regular part of grace for us. It began as an off-hand remark and has grown into a practice. It is easy to pray for those I love and care...

Her friendship gave another hope enough to want to live Her words are tattooed on someone else’s skin. Her drawing hangs on a stranger’s wall. And none of this on purpose.