My mother is of a generation that puts much stock in stoicism. Striding forward while putting up with all manner of inconveniences and tribulations. One day, several years ago, mom said to me, “I’ve decided I’d rather be endearing than enduring.” This made me smile because she actually is rather endearing without even trying. But I did understand what she was trying to process. She wanted to apply her will to intentional kindness rather than getting on and getting through with a “stiff upper lip.” The truth is, you can’t be anything, in the end, without being enduring. Perseverance in any direction requires endurance. When I titled this website “Cultivating…

My dad used to say, “You never know what a day will bring.” And that is true. When we open our eyes to the new day, we are awaiting an unfolding of events. We usually have plans, even an expectation of scheduled appointments. But, with any of them, the unexpected can change things in a moment. We’ve all experienced a need to be flexible, even fluid. What is the saying? You can bend, or you can break. There’s another element of the unexpected to be considered, too, and that is discovery. This journey of life is one of adventure and discovery. Have you considered approaching your days as doorways into…

I like to draw trees, especially bare winter trees. Looking through spires of trees whose leaves have fallen is mesmerizing and fascinating. And finding an old gnarly fellow with bent and crooked branches is particularly captivating. There, in a forgotten clearing, he stands, seemingly endless and timeless. What stories could he tell? What wildlife has he sheltered during his more well-dressed seasons? How patiently he waits for his fruit-bearing time. I’m not completely sure why I love bare trees, but they do speak to me. It’s as though their strength, structure and character are fully revealed by the hard winter days. They may seem to some to be diminished without…

Fasting is a time of redirecting and recalibrating. Having given up something good (and it could be anything that I would typically turn to for consolation) for something better, I refocus on the giver of all good things, God Himself. We humans are prone to settle into routine, and even the routine can become a consolation, especially if that routine helps us feel good about ourselves. So, initially I must be truly honest with myself and with God about my desperate need of his saving grace. I need so much more than his help along the way. I need to be rescued. As the Psalmist prayed, “Preserve me, O God,…

Today is the first day of the new year, and there is a sense of purpose and energy in the newness of it. This is that time during which we typically feel like we have an opportunity for a fresh start. The turning of the page, as it were, and setting goals with all the hope that anything might happen and so much is possible. I’m so grateful not to be dependent upon my own resolve. Having been through enough failed starts in the course of my life to convince me that my determination is not enough, I am at rest in the conviction that God alone is my source,…