This week I sat at the bedside of a dear friend who’s dying. She was present with us, yet far away in her mind and heart. The few phrases she managed to speak were about Jesus. How He is with her in her sleep. How she and Jesus have had precious conversations lately. How Jesus…
Moving Into the Neighborhood
The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. ~John 1:14 (The Message) We’ve always loved this translation of Christ made flesh. It’s so personal and intimate. A perfect image of the way our servant-Savior desires to be with us. Like a hen with her chicks, He wants to gather us in closely….
Celebrating Goodbye
Missionaries say A LOT of goodbyes. To short-term mission teams who move in and out of the ministry. To friends and family who visit for a week or two. To summer interns. To nationals who move on. To fellow teammates who leave the field permanently or for weeks or months of furlough. When every hello…
Looking Out My Window
Two years ago today, I was completing the monumental task of sorting drawers upon drawers of expandable file folders in my private office, each representing months or even years of casework for my federal employer. As I boxed away files for storage and transferred others to fellow colleagues, memories passed through my mind like flipped…
Reflections on International Women’s Day
“I don’t speak English well,” said Anne,* apologetically. “I only attended school through primary, so I didn’t use English at home as a child. I only spoke my mother tongue and Swahili.” She communicated in soft tones, twisting a handkerchief between clasped hands and shyly smiling at me with an unwavering gaze. Trying my best…
A Life Called to Love 