2022 Top Ten

I’ve let this blog lie dormant for far too long. Every year, I think, “this will be the year I get back in the habit of blogging.” 2023 may be the year I make good on that promise. Or it may be the year I decide it’s not worth it to keep paying for this platform. Whatever the case may…

Myself

“Who am I?” Without any effort, I can recall the sound of Derek Zoolander’s voice as he looks at his reflection in a puddle and asks himself this question (before being splashed in the face by an oncoming car). Everything he thought he knew (which wasn’t much, really) was stripped from him in a moment when Hansel, who’s “so hot…

People

When I close my eyes to fall asleep, I am afraid of the world I will meet in my dreams. What – or who – did I push to the back of my mind today that’s destined to meet me in my most vulnerable state? What battles will I have to fight in the land of my dreams? What tears…

Thirst

I got fitted for my first set of contacts almost two years ago. After less than a week, they became my litmus test for when I needed to drink more water. Until that time, I never understood how much I needed to listen to my eyes. My eyes tell me more than what is happening around me. Their enormous weight…

Wilderness

“What does wilderness look like for you?” Often, I find it hard to describe the wilderness I feel myself in, because I don’t want to journey there more than is necessary. I don’t want to walk into the vast, open space where the air is sucked away from me. Where my clothes are stripped bare and I stand exposed and…

Fast

Chocolate. Facebook. TV. Telephone. Soft drinks. Fast Food. Every year, Lent conveniently falls just far enough after New Year’s that the practice of fasting often becomes a new way to attain the resolution we previously dropped. We stop eating chocolate or give up soft drinks with the “side benefit” that we will lose weight in the process. But, other than…

Wander

I was 16 when I first started talking seriously about where I would spend my college years. New York University took the early lead. I refused to give credence to any other school in the country. I was bound for New York City, where I would no doubt spend my days in class and my evenings playing viola in a…

Lament

My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me? Possibly the most quoted lament of all time (followed closely by “My kingdom for a horse”). On the cross, Jesus cries out familiar words to most present – words that drive me to lament every time I have to read the Aramaic out loud at our Tenebrae service. Elohi, Elohi, lama sabachthani? I bear…

Dust

From dust you came and to dust you shall return.

Tonight, I will repeat these words over and over as I look into the eyes of church members – people who count on my to reveal the presence of God in their midst. People who look to me for hope and wholeness. People who come week in and week out, seeking the God who creates and sustains.

For Annie on her 60th birthday

Today is Annie Hammon’s 60th birthday. For those who don’t know, Annie is my Aunt by marriage (and also choice). She is my dad’s wife’s sister (hi Ruth!). Previously, I have written reflections on the terminal illness (#effcancer) her husband Chris lived with for too many years. Ruth presented Annie with a collection of pictures and pieces from friends far…