Category Archives: Devils Lake Journal

The Distilling

On a whim in 2001, my mother and I drove late into the night to West Virginia, to a little old house on a lake that once belonged to her grandparents. She loves genealogy, and we spent the weekend exploring cemeteries and old home sites in hollers left empty by time and progress. In Pax,Continue reading “The Distilling”

Crunchy

Confession: I make my own granola.  You probably just mentally labeled me a “crunchy mom,” if you use the new lingo. With the advent of an entire department of the government dedicated to “making America healthy again,” we’ve developed a lot of terminology for our latest health trends and crazes.  I like making my ownContinue reading “Crunchy”

Into the Deep

Our pastor brought a thimble to church. I was sitting so far back that I could barely see it. He held it up between his thumb and forefinger and stood in front of the pulpit. “If what there is to be known about God is an ocean,” he said, “this represents how much we know.”Continue reading “Into the Deep”

Echoes from Job

Job said, “Oh! That my words were written! Oh! That they were inscribed in a book!” His prayer was abundantly answered. His ordeal, his words, his case for right, and his outcomes have all been printed in the greatest bestseller of all time.  This isn’t because Job’s words are so great on their own. It’sContinue reading “Echoes from Job”

Playing in Plum Creek

Years ago, an old farmer was attending our church. He saw my baby, and he asked me how I would have liked to give birth underground in a sod hut in winter. I shook my head. That sort of roughing it isn’t for me. It was hard enough to have a baby in winter withContinue reading “Playing in Plum Creek”

Taking the Pain of the People

Being a witness to suffering is suffering itself.  Holding your child down on a hospital bed so that medical professionals can help them doesn’t make the pain easier.  Helping at the site of a car accident leaves you feeling shaken and helpless.  Hearing the wailing of a bereaved spouse, parent, or child echoes through heartsContinue reading “Taking the Pain of the People”

The Force of a Story

Author Wendell Berry transforms the ordinary of everyday into wonders too wide for comprehension.  A humble barber (Jayber Crow) follows Dante’s path through 1950’s Kentucky before discovering that love and heaven dwell together.  A war widow (Hannah Coulter) gives birth after her husband’s death but finds what it means to truly live.  A tobacco farmerContinue reading “The Force of a Story”

Garden Saints

I don’t know what sparked my mischievous mind the first time, but there was only one answer when my grandmother asked if I’d put mud on the head of her garden saint. The damp potting soil fit the curvature of my chubby hand, and it sat delightfully atop the head of the stone saint, armsContinue reading “Garden Saints”

Playground Philosophy

Vacation Bible School is not for the faint of heart, and I am very thankful for the army of people who helped do two in my community last week. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time supervising the playground. It led me to contemplate the deep differences between poetic justice and karma, evenContinue reading “Playground Philosophy”