I scooped up the dead kitten on the same day that I heard of a friend’s death. As I carried it on the shovel, I felt a deep sense of futility. Why had the Lord allowed the kitten to even be born? What had my friend’s life amounted to after countless struggles with addiction andContinue reading “Subjected to Futility”
Category Archives: Devils Lake Journal
The Sins of the Mothers
The sins of mothers are on full display this week in the headlines, and reading them always makes me take a closer look at my own. Every sin boils down to selfishness. All selfishness leads to death. Selfishness drives mothers to be the center. We want to be needed, necessary, an integral part of ourContinue reading “The Sins of the Mothers”
Thirsty Together
It’s amazing how thirst spreads like wildfire amongst young children. When the first one says, “I am thirsty,” the room fills with echoes of the same. Everyone has to go to the water fountain to get a drink. Thirsting is catching just like yawning. I bet you just looked around for your water bottle. That’sContinue reading “Thirsty Together”
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”
