As a teen refugee, my mother was evacuated to West Germany after the war. She had lost her home, her family, and her possessions. Here she tells about small blessings in the refugee camp: Arriving at camp, we all looked terrible, crusted over from traveling with no opportunities to wash. Mothers struggled to clean children and comb tangles out of...
Broken, what do you do with shattered shards of clay, How do you find your way among the ruins of your life, How do you survive, broken? Kintsugi is the Japanese art of repairing pottery to bring beauty to brokenness. Instead of disguising damage, these artists use gold, silver, or platinum lacquer to highlight the “scars,” transforming broken vases and...
One day I went for a walk in my neighborhood and came upon a young starling caught in blueberry netting, his feet so entangled they secured him to a twig. Because he couldn’t move, I was able to hold him, quivering, as I carefully unraveled the binding strands. Once freed, I held him for a magical moment before lifting the...
(Re-posted from Comfort-Cafe.net, May 2018) The Lord is with you when you are with him . . . (II Chronicles 15:2) This short obscure phrase, spoken by a prophet to encourage Asa, King of Judah, says something deeply profound. It asks the question, “Who are you siding with?” So often we want the Lord to be with us when our...
They say to live, love, laugh. Certainly, if you have laughter and love, the live part takes care of itself! Laughter The Bible speaks much of joy, and a joyful heart laughs easily. We are reminded that “This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). Finding joy through humor is...
(Re-posted from Comfort-Cafe.net, July 2018) But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me . . . though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. ~ Micah 7:7, 8b Both Christians and non-Christians express their concerns to me about distressing trends they see in...
(Re-posted from Comfort-Cafe.net, March 2018) Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite . . . When Abram heard that his relative [Lot] had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan. During the night Abram divided his men to attack them...
(Re-posted from Comfort-Cafe.net, February 2018) . . . he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness . . . (Isaiah 61:10) Have you ever thought very much about the “robe of righteous” or the “garment of salvation”? I never did until recently. What beautiful truths came to light as I meditated...
(Re-posted from Comfort-Cafe.net, January 2018) Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock....
“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news . . . Today in the town...