The first close friendship I ever had began when I was fifteen years old. Chuck and I went through high school and college together, we double-dated together (and got rejected together); we were confidants and counselors and chums through every important event of...
Some years ago we traded in my old Volkswagen Super Beetle for our first piece of new furniture: a mauve sofa. It was roughly the shade of Pepto-Bismol, but because it represented to us a substantial investment, we thought "mauve" sounded better.The man at the...
Some time ago I was visiting my parents and went to get a haircut at a shop they recommended. I started praying this prayer and ended up having a long conversation about God and faith with Ted, the barber. Ted owned the shop along with his wife Joanne, who normally...
There is no place where God's presence cannot break into you. I was in the Department of Motor Vehicles two weeks ago. David asked once, "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?" If I had to take a stab at that one, I 'd guess the DMV.I...
I knew something of the upside and downside of glory. I grew up a Chicago Cubs fan in the late 1960s. Their entire infield made the all-star team one year. Randy Hundley, the catcher, was a personal favorite.One day the phone rang. A neighbor, a girl in my class at...
We used to have a bedtime ritual when my children were small. "I don't love you this much," I'd say, holding my hands a few inches apart, "and I don't love you this much [hands a foot apart now], or this much, or this much" (the gap growing wider until it was as far...
Our first two children were girls. When they were very young, they were quite sure they wanted to live in our home forever. Leaving sounded awful. They would sometimes ask, "When I grow up, can I still live here with you and Mommy?" It was no use trying to tell them...