“Our idea of God tells us more about ourselves than about Him.” ― Thomas Merton "Oh, how easy it is to clutter up the path of the Holy Spirit with my images and preconceptions of God!" ―Edwina Gately Our ideas about God matter. I've always thought so. But I used to think that it … Continue reading Why Our Ideas About God Matter
Who am I? What have you made me for, God? Why am I even here, right now, on this beautiful planet? What is my role here? These are questions that haunt me. The answers somehow eluding me. Maybe that is because I have been looking for a job description. Something that comes with pay would … Continue reading What Makes You Come Alive?
A little over a week ago, I told my doctor that I was turning 40 on the 2nd. She looked at me confused. "That's not right, is it?" she asked. "My birthday is on the second." "Yeah, but I thought you were only 38, " she replied. "Oh... that's right! 40 comes next year." I … Continue reading I want to sink into what is
“Just Do It” is a great slogan when it comes to Nike shoes and things like: “Get off the couch and move!” “Floss your teeth!” “Eat your vegetables!” Or: “Sit down and write!” But there are times when “Just Do It” doesn’t work and when trying harder only leaves me feeling depleted and frustrated. Motivation, … Continue reading For When “Just Do It” Doesn’t Work
How do we talk to our children about war and enemies and hope and love? How do we talk to one another? I had the opportunity to practice the other morning as my six-year-old examined the library books scattered on the family-room floor. The conversation went something like this: "Mom, that picture on The Vanished … Continue reading Can We Talk About War and Enemies and Hope and Love?
With a sigh, I erased November from the whiteboard calendar yesterday. I like November. I like its rich barrenness. I like November's stark beauty: dried grasses studded with seed pods; trees unveiled and silhouetted against an early red sky. I like the chutzpah of pink and white cosmos stubbornly blooming until almost Thanksgiving. Next year, … Continue reading November
We welcomed the Advent season yesterday. Season of anticipation, of waiting, of hope, of birth. What life, what light, is growing in this fertile dark? Birth is blood, is tears, is strength, is fierce, is tender, and soft, and bruised. Birth is hard work. Without birth, both new life and old die. What are you growing … Continue reading A Poem to Welcome Advent
Lately, I've been trying to introduce my kids to the idea of being interrupters. Usually, we teach kids not to interrupt, that interrupting is rude. Often it is. But sometimes, interruption is exactly what is needed.
This poem was my invitation. An invitation to listen. To participate. To dance and play with something much bigger than myself. I firmly believe that this invitation is extended to everybody.
We cannot be free if we don't know what's holding us, containing us, or chaining our feet to the ground. We cannot be free if we don't recognize the voices that we mistake for reality. It's easy to mistake the way that we think about things, even the way that we experience things, for the … Continue reading Enough Already
Jessica Sanborn 