alenn0n

grieve

To grieve is to give your attention to the vacancy that has opened inside of you, the emptiness that has taken up residency in your affections. One day you made room for someone or something precious, and now, that someone has gone, that something has left you with empty open hands. Near the beginning thereContinue reading “grieve”

comfort

Comfort is as single-minded and stubborn as a fortress. It is low to the ground, dusty with obscurity and limitation. Like a bunker buried in the sand, it acts in faith, quietly raging against the injury that is evident, signaling the presence of something unseen. To comfort is not to heal. It is not toContinue reading “comfort”

shine

To shine is to flood with light, to steal away the dark from its hiding places, to warm, to nourish, to feed. To shine is to make something gently manifest, to make plain what is present, to offer a truth that ushers in flourishing. To shine is to tend to the seedling, to uphold theContinue reading “shine”

a prayer for a child

In this season of the coronavirus pandemic, there are so many adults talking. So many projections and statistics, so much advice and expertise – and this is mostly right and good, many of the voices well-meaning, well-informed, and truly helpful. As an adult, I realize that I am adding my voice to the din. IfContinue reading “a prayer for a child”

quarantine

The language of quarantine is drawn from the word four, or forty. To quarantine, or to be in quarantine, is to be set apart for a time for the sake of others. In the face of something that threatens us, we endure separation, enclosure, long days and too-short nights. We are removed from some, andContinue reading “quarantine”

glory

My husband has taught me to love trees. He has always loved them, enjoyed them, and seen them in ways that I have had to learn. To begin to see a tree, I like to run my hands along its bark. I try to wait and watch as its leaves give shape to the breezeContinue reading “glory”

shelter

To experience shelter, or to be sheltered, is to be secured and provided for. We take shelter in the things we expect to be sturdy, and in the people we have found to be safe. I came to Jesus first as a young child. As I remember this first encounter with God, I feel mostlyContinue reading “shelter”

look after

To look after typically means to care for, or to tend to; to take pains to keep someone comfortable who might be ill or elderly; or perhaps, to be diligent in meeting the needs of a child. The relationship assumed is typically one of a giver and a receiver, and often there is an asymmetryContinue reading “look after”

reassurance

For those of you who have spent some time in evangelical Christian churches, you may be familiar with the word assurance as it is used and meant in the theological sphere – it tends to refer to the active work of the Spirit of God in the world and with our individual selves that mayContinue reading “reassurance”

what to expect – questions

Questions are in some ways harder than answers, I think. After we have spent some time considering one word, I will offer some questions at the end of each post for mulling over as we go through our days and our lives. While questions can be harder, they can be quite powerful, and are aContinue reading “what to expect – questions”