I can’t tell you what woke me up that day. It wasn’t the noise on the bus, because a lot of the other passengers had fallen asleep along with me and my friends. And I can’t say I felt the bus jerk as it moved between lanes as if it was the size of a sports car, and not a large bus for transport. All I know is at some point on our way to New York City, I woke up to find our bus moving at warp speed down the highway. The world outside was a blur as [...]
It may surprise you to learn, I was unhappy to find myself working at a university bookstore after graduating college. As you might know, I love books. I was an English major. And, one of my favorite things to do is to wander the aisles of a bookstore with a cup of coffee in my hand. For me it’s pretty close to heaven. So why wasn’t I happy? Well, for one, shelving text books isn’t the same as reading a fantastic novel. Retail is hard work. But more than anything, my unhappiness wasn’t about where I was, it was about [...]
The train moved through the dark subway tunnels of Boston, before entering Park Street Station. This was my stop. I got off the train and made my way to the stairs. Rather than heading up to fresh air, and the sun setting on Park Street Church, I descended further to where I’d catch the Red Line Train. As I reached the bottom of the steps, on the platform between the tracks, I saw a man playing a white electric guitar. Crooning into a microphone, he stood with a small amp at his side. An open guitar case lay at his [...]
Have you ever wanted something so badly, but it didn’t come? Have you ever prayed a prayer that rose from so deep in your soul, it felt as if your whole body prayed it? And then, God was silent. Or worse the door you were sure He was going to open wide, seemed to slam in your face. Without warning or a reason you could see, you were sent reeling. Like asking your best friend to be there for a big life moment, you asked God to be there for you, and He didn’t show up. It almost feels like [...]
Ever notice that many of our favorite books-turned-movies all follow the same formula? Katniss, Harry Potter, Frodo—the story is always the same. Sure their lives and situations look different, but their journeys, not so much. At their core, each of these stories is about a normal, seemingly everyday person faced with an impossible quest. But why are we so enamored by them when we aren’t faced with the arena, becoming a wizard, or the daunting task of destroying an evil ring before it destroys us? What about the hero’s journey speaks to you and me? All this month, we have [...]
Whenever I am in a hard season, and I am facing a daunting obstacle, I feel like I go into gamer mode. Now, I don’t play video games, so I don’t know that this metaphor is fully accurate, but in these times, I zone in. I focus all my energies around a certain problem and try to come up with the best plan of attack. I find myself looking for the right button to pulverize the issue stressing me out. Only, there’s no remote in life that does that. Friends, we have just about made it through the gloomier month [...]
I started thinking about my high school graduation in eighth grade. I blame it on the fact that my older sister had just started college, and when I went to visit her on campus, I wanted to stay. College life looked so cool. Then, I started “dating” a senior. I would say blame that on the fact our school was eighth through twelfth grade, except we met at the local ice skating rink. Going to the same school only encouraged the relationship. “Senior Boyfriend” introduced me to his other friends who were also seniors, and all of them too had [...]
It seems almost unfair that the grey skies of winter often give way to the rainy days of spring, before the sun finally warms our days more consistently. Conversely, last week, I saw a friend who lives in the desert out west. She told me that other than a few weeks a year, every day is sunny where she lives. And I wondered, would I miss the rain, if I lived in the desert? Important things happen in the rainy, in between months. Here in the Northeast, it is when the first plants of the season begin to take root. [...]
Have you ever heard a story so many times that you almost stopped listening whenever it was told? You knew the story, so why listen? You had it all figured out, so why pay attention? For me, I think there are many stories like that, and one of them is the Christmas story. I have heard and told the story of Mary and Joseph in the stable so many times that there’s been seasons where it almost lost it’s meaning. But interestingly, there has been other times, where the story came alive to me all over again. Surprisingly, for me, [...]
This might sound weird or, if you know me very well, not surprising. But I like lines. Not the lines you stand in—like at the grocery store or amusement parks. And not the lines that keep people divided—the ones that say one group of people is better than another. No, I don’t like those lines at all. But I do, like lines. I like the lines that directors tape on stages, to tell people where to stand so their performance can make the most impact. I like the lines painted on highways and in parking lots, that keep cars from [...]
