Setting tables in the wilderness for fellow wanderers
When I was six years old, I found God. Or rather, God found me.
I grew up Catholic, not in practice, necessarily, but definitely in name. The daughter of two immigrants, I was enrolled in Catholic school because religion was a tie to the old country, so I went to Mass, was taught by the sisters. I found God again when I was nine, kneeling on the floor of a basement bedroom in my aunt’s … Read the rest
Diversity: God’s Gift and the People of Shinar Who Rejected It
An Exegesis of Genesis 11:1-9 (NRSV)
The story of the Tower of Babel is the final account of Primeval History in the Old Testament scriptures. Following Genesis 11:1-9, the narrative shifts to Ancestral History, introducing Abram as a descendant of Shem in Genesis 11:10-26, thereby setting the stage for the tale of Israel’s ancestor in the faith—their origin story. These few verses about Babel … Read the rest
The other day, my four year old was coloring a picture, and then he turned to me, asking, “Mama? How do you spell ‘Virus, go away!’?'” And my heart broke in two.
This past weekend, his grandparents visited briefly–wearing masks, of course, as we all do now. My son, realizing he couldn’t find his, looked at me, panicking, and held a big breath while covering his mouth with his arm. And my heart broke once … Read the rest
It’s a new week, the first new week of this new year, and I suspect that we’ve all got some pretty high expectations for it, especially considering the dumpster fire of a year we just came through (*here’s side-eyeing you, 2020*). This is the year we’re going to get it together. This is the year we’re going to win at this life thing. This is the year that will be different. And maybe it will.… Read the rest
Every January, in lieu of resolutions, I choose a word to help guide the coming year. It helps inform my thoughts, my words, my actions; it reminds me of what to spend precious emotional energy on. Sometimes, the word is directly linked to my hopes or desires for the coming months. At others, it’s more of a lesson that I began to learn, and I want to walk it out in the new year. Such … Read the rest
Every January, I choose a word for the new year, a word to guide my thoughts, my actions, the things I lean into and the things I let go of. This year, I chose the word rooted. Meaning to establish or settle firmly. I began the new year with a vision of a tree, a great big ancient thing with gnarled roots. I wanted to be that tree. I wanted to be established firmly … Read the rest
We have spent so much of these months practicing walking in the dark, haven’t we? A pandemic and loss and grief have darkened our path, but the beautiful thing is that even when we didn’t know what we were walking toward, we kept going anyway. Kept praying anyway. Kept creating anyway. Kept parenting anyway. Kept healing anyway. Kept washing our hands anyway. Kept teaching anyway. Kept loving anyway. And somewhere along the line, perhaps without … Read the rest
Today is the third Sunday in Advent, and as we light the candle for Joy, I close my eyes and breathe a silent prayer, a confession of sorts. For these days, if I’m being honest? Joy seems so very far from my reach. Maybe it’s the same for you?
We are walking through the darkness of these Advent days, friends, magnified by the literal darkness that permeates our days as we inch ourselves closer to … Read the rest
