Redemption in the Void
My mother passed away on August 1, 2018. In her decrepit state she was ready to go. That alone is a blessing when considering how many die a violent or untimely death. Yet even when death comes as an accepted release, everyone who’s experienced the death of a loved one knows how discomfiting it is when a person’s soul disappears from the face of the earth. For those of us left behind, loved ones continue to die in stages—the funeral and burial or cremation, dealing with their clothes, personal items, and furniture in their room, replaying memories, and finalizing business. We…
Die and Rise
When I came to Louisiana, I was hungry for whatever God had for me, as I had been through the preceding year. But in my mind the big move opened an opportunity to go through some kind of death to my previous life and resurrection to what God might do in my future. My first weeks here were on one hand filled with the busyness of moving into a new place. On the other hand, during those weeks I felt something deep within me die—aspects of my identity, attitudes, and priorities. I was glad for the change. And this may…
New Life out of Old
On a hike I come across an old, fallen tree, its wood rotting. Out of it grows a sapling. The sapling is not growing out of the ground; it’s growing out of the tree. New life out of old. Some might say it’s like reincarnation, but no, the sapling is not a rebirth of the dead tree. It grows from a seed off a standing tree and finds its nourishment in the decaying wood of the fallen tree. The dead tree only provides the place for the new tree to grow. We often talk about this kind of…
