Cleaning and organizing a closet is a deeply satisfying experience. Taking everything out and choosing what to keep, what to toss, and what to give away. Replacing the kept things in reasonable order. Finishing with some aromatic sachets strategically placed and tied with satin ribbon. A worthy Saturday morning endeavor. Usually, there will be a handful of things that remind me to pray for someone. The pretty coral shawl my sister gave me, the basket from mother’s kitchen that has been repurposed to hold my socks, the dainty sandals my daughter-in-law gifted me, and the red rock bracelet placed in my hand by a friend in the church lobby several…

The clatter of utensils on dishes and ice hitting the bottoms of glasses. The aroma of culinary delights wafting from the kitchen. The happy laughter of children and the harmony of several conversations all happening at once. The sounds of Sunday dinner in a multi-generational gathering. This is what my sister and I always call “second Church.” We may all be talking about what the kids are doing for the summer, what is currently challenging us in our various vocations, or what the weather will be like when we all go to the beach next month, but what is really going on underneath all that is the brooding of the…

It is raining. Not heavy, but definitely steady. The evidence of God’s care and cultivation of His land. It will nourish the flora and replenish the waterways, and the air will smell cleaner when the skies clear. I am always strangely comforted by a good rain. Maybe it is a simple thing, but I like knowing that God is bigger and more powerful than I. He restrains His awesome and mighty hand and condescends to deal gently with me. When everything around is chaotic and tempestuous, and the harried and anxious are self-absorbed, and violence and hatred are bent on destruction, I go still and quiet in His presence and…

How did we ever get anywhere without GPS? I started driving before there were even cell phones, let alone satellite navigation systems. I remember having to have someone (anyone) give me specific directions, with landmarks and street names, if I was going somewhere I’d never been before. These days, I don’t think a thing about agreeing to meet someone in a place I’ve never been. As long as I have an address, I’m good to go. Unless I decide I know better than that annoying female voice. She doesn’t give up, though. “Recalibrating.” “When possible, make a U-turn.” “Recalibrating.” Then I’m doing the unconscionable: talking back to her. Using words…