GROWTH WITHOUT ALL THE WORK

I once watched a children’s presentation in a worship service that had a character who became impatient with the absence of visible growth in some seeds he had planted.  He consults an agricultural expert and learns that he had perhaps not done the planting correctly...

PRAYERS FOR MIDDLE TIMES

The days seesaw,             frost overnight and frigid at dawn                         bright sun and mild air by late afternoon. The jacket I needed in the morning feels too heavy after a few hours. Is nature as confused as I am,             unsure of whether to end...

LOOKING FOR FOOLS

This year our calendar offered us the whimsical opportunity to celebrate Easter on April Fool’s Day.  While the latter is not considered a day with spiritual significance, I wonder if that might be a mistaken perception, a perception the calendar fates were attempting...

ON NOT BELIEVING

Miracles cluster around us this week, with the calendar bringing both Easter stories of resurrection and Passover stories of liberation, all while the miracle of spring’s return shows up in the first buds and flowers.  For all our emphasis on a scientific worldview...

EARLY BLOOMERS

As a result of several mild days with more sunlight, I noticed the first evidences of blooming in my neighborhood.  Then, as is usually the case at this point in the calendar, more winter weather came.  Now I am worrying about those early bloomers, whether they will...