The man sat cross-legged on the sidewalk next to the gas station, a small backpack by his side. He evidently hadn’t had access to a shower in a while. A woman with three boys walked past him. “If you’re looking for the restrooms,” said the man, pointing, “they’re over there.” The woman thanked him and hurried off, nervous about interacting with a homeless stranger. As she and her kids walked back toward their car, she heard a familiar, still, small voice. “I want you to go talk to that man.” For a moment, she balked, but quickly realized arguing with God is never a great Continue Reading
Why certainty about your theology isn’t always a good thing
At first, it seemed like a bad case of the flu, but then his joints became painfully inflamed. The culprit was rheumatoid arthritis. People from church came over and prayed for him. He went to a big tent revival-style healing meeting and got prayer there, too. As time went on and my father was not healed of arthritis, the folks at church began to wonder what sin he must have committed to deserve such punishment. At that point, my mother remarked, “Our friends are like Job’s comforters!” God has given human beings the gift of a brilliant mind. He has also revealed a great deal Continue Reading
One helpful thing to remember when circumstances look serious
The two figures in the kayak push away from the floating dock and commence paddling along the lake shore. Scott grins. “When Jed and Rebecca get back,” he says, “I’m going to ask them how their marriage enrichment exercise went.” Allow me to hit rewind to let you in on the joke. Years previous to this recent vacation with our son and daughter-in-law, Scott and I borrowed a canoe from friends and embarked on what shall forever be known as the Great Canoeing Disaster. If I recall correctly, I was seated in the front and Scott in the back. We had a little trouble syncing our Continue Reading
Don’t waste your stay in the worldwide waiting room
“We’re doing okay,” said the woman on the phone. “Everyone is well, but we are SO ready to get back to normal.” Making phone calls on behalf of my church to check in on people during the stay-at-home order, I'm hearing the same thing again and again: We just want this to be over. I get that. I want it to be over, too. It’s hard to face uncertainty day after day. It’s disconcerting to be thrown out of our routines. It’s difficult to stay away from people we love. We may be disgruntled about the choices we don’t have right now, but we can decide one thing. We can decide how we Continue Reading