The Bird that Needs to Quit
A bird outside our window has been trying to get in—for months. I understand that birds accidentally fly into windows. But this one sits on a bush outside the window and looks in. He knows the glass is there. And that it’s hard. But still he flies up and bangs into it, falls back to the bush, flies up to bang the glass again, falls back, and then bashes his beak again. Over and over. For months. Is the bird stupid? Maybe psychotic, a psychotic bird in need of therapy. Or perhaps the bird has a great vision of a…
A Golden Gate Take on Theology
I’m standing on the icon of San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge. I am in awe–not just because of the marvel of the thing but what it shows me about God. This suspension bridge depends on two towers on which hang two 6750-foot cables that suspend the 4200-foot span. Each cable is three feet in diameter and is made of 3/16” wires—27,562 of them. Yes, 27,562 wires tightly are bundled into each cable. These two big cables rise into the sky—but on a foggy day, which is most of the time here—they’re obscured in the mist. And it seems like…
The Fenced-in Garden
Near my house is a Panera Bread Restaurant that was originally a Millie’s Restaurant. When it changed hands, only two things stayed the same—the roof and a little fenced-in garden in front of the entrance. I’m glad Panera kept the garden. We need it. In the midst of a bustling parking lot, a three-and-a-half-by-five-foot white picket fence protects a garden of roses and lilies. It’s a physical representation of what every person needs: a fenced-in garden in the midst of a busy life. So often our lives are like the parking lot, always active with coming and going. But right…
What’s Your Tennis Ball?
Don’t push. Get pulled. Drew Houston, founder of Dropbox, said this: “The happiest and most successful people I know don’t just love what they do, they’re obsessed with solving an important problem, something that matters to them. They remind me of a dog chasing a tennis ball: Their eyes go a little crazy, the leash snaps, and they go bounding off, plowing through whatever gets in the way. . . . It’s not about pushing yourself. It’s about finding your tennis ball, the thing that pulls you.” We can live out our faith under obligation to all the things we…
My Favorite Restroom!
My favorite restroom is the one where I step into infinity. Yes, a restroom. I walk into this room with mirrors on all four walls and ceiling that reflect infinitely in every direction but down. It plays with my eyes and mind, and I play along. What would it be like to step through the mirror into the images and enter another dimension? I want to go beyond myself, beyond the ordinariness of this world. I want to step through the mirror into infinity. Become countless me’s, all moving in sync with my original me, now…
