Between the cross and the empty tomb Are the hours Of a strange Sabbath, A brutal pause, A death-filled rest, A peace-less peace. This is where we live our lives: One long Holy Saturday, Where […]
Tag: Pain
Journey with Jesus 5 — Loved into the desert (Mark 1:5-8)
Halfway through the exercise, a thought ran through my mind over and over again: “I don’t need this. Why am I doing this to myself? I hate this. I’m done.” And on that day, I […]
Psalm 137
A rendering of Psalm 137, a graphic and painful desire for revenge from a disheartened exile longing for ruined Jerusalem.
When life slaps us across the face
I need a wake up call every now and then. Not a literal wake up call; I’ve got an alarm on my phone for that. But I need to be awakened from the soul slumber […]
How long, God? The waiting is killing me!
Pain can feel eternal. Suffering slows the clock to a crawl. In the hospital where I work, I see people in deep pain on a regular basis. Physical pain that so fills the senses it’s […]
Pain gives definition to life
I celebrate the anniversaries of friends whose marriage survived the dark and harrowing days after his infidelities were discovered. I celebrate the birthdays of the son of friends whose asthma has almost taken down to […]
Living in a world with teeth
God is not afraid of danger, pain, or death. And he’s not afraid of seeing his loved ones on paths that will lead us through all three. In fact, he guarantees that every one of us […]
The Jesus who confronts our pain & shame
I am a strategically self-protective person. I hide my faults and weaknesses. I weigh my words. I hedge my bets. Because of this, there’s a side to Jesus that I find particularly disturbing. It’s a […]
Finding the purpose in our suffering
Pain is one of the most personal things any of us ever experiences. Whether physical or emotional, pain has the ability to focus our attention unlike almost any other human experience. This past week, I […]
Get over it!
If you’re an adult, you’ve had experiences where people have said and done hurtful things to you. I have. We all have. They were painful. They were inappropriate. But they’re over. Done. Gone. In the […]
Laughter as liberation
One of the joys of the internet and social media is the many humorous posts and memes and photos and videos that are continually shared online. Laughter is liberating. Laughter liberates the weighed-down soul. It […]
Doing things that I hate when other people do them & the gift of laughter
I used to wear a watch. Now, I have an iPhone. (But that trade is a story for another time.) Back in the days when I wore a watch, way back when I was in […]