When something is broken, hopelessly severed, damaged beyond use; what does it take to mend it? I can remember my mother coming to the end of her busy day, sitting with the family in front of the television, taking some garment missing a button or presenting a ripped seam and work to mend it. She would match the thread from the spools she hoarded from past sewing projects, force the defiant thread through the tiny eye of a needle, and separate the thread from its spool by b

Life scatters and gathers us. We lose. We search. We find. We take up. We let go. And then the rhythm starts again with each flaming sunrise and each ribboned sunset. However, there comes a time, a season, a process, planned or forced, to sort through our lifetime accumulation. It is a time to decide what frees our heart and what weighs it down. It is not an easy season. I came to this season, overwhelmed by the enormity of the sorting I would have to do. I was my father’s d

How do we know what to keep? Our lives are over-stuffed and crowded even more than our houses. It is too easy to keep what we do not need and wonder why we feel emotionally and physically drained. How can we learn how to sort? My father was a keeper. My sister, brother and I attacked the stacks of his keeping habit after his heart attack took him away from us too suddenly. We found sentimental notes and mementos from his travels across this continent, but some of it was jus

Have you seen the pictures? Harvey and Irma have blown through the southeast with unrestrained fury and destruction. People return to their shredded lives with more questions than solutions. They sift through wet and mangled rubble. They face the agonizing truth that life as they knew it has been blown away and left them with pieces they can't put back together. Cameras catch their vacant eyes and wilted spirits. But there is another picture. The wreckage behind them is th

I couldn’t find my passport. I had it to fill out some travel papers within two days. How could it just disappear? I began my methodical search, reversing where I had been, what papers and files I had used. Nothing. Then, I became frantic, looking under, in between, searching where I didn’t think it could be but wanted to make sure. Still nothing. Now fear set in with all its haunting what-ifs. What if I couldn’t find it? What if I couldn’t replace it in time for my in

I would rather hug a fear away than watch another person struggle. Wouldn’t you? But sometimes the painful work of love is to refrain from embracing. Tough love some call it. Many can’t handle the agony and must rush to help. But if help replaces the growth another needs; it is misplaced. I remember watching Lisa put on her socks before we discovered the sock-aid. It was an independent skill that took excruciating effort on her part and sometimes even more from me to wa

I am a hugger. I know how important it is to hug at funerals and crisis. I have always looked for those who live without enough hugs and at least share mine. However, instead of just giving a hug; I receive one in return, a wonderful, warming, encouraging hug surrounding me and meeting some need I didn’t know I had. Hugs should always give more than they take. It’s one of the big differences between what we teach our children about “good” hugs and “bad” hugs. I am learnin

I am a gatherer from way back. I love the gathering process. I get ready for a day in the kitchen by gathering supplies and cooking utensils. It stimulates me for the work ahead. I love packing for a trip. I stack neatly folded clothes, lay out toiletries, grab several what-if-I-need-this items. Gathering is the work of preparation. It prepares me for something; builds anticipation for it. The activity or journey becomes real the more I give myself to gathering. Gatherin

I have a tear bottle. It is fragile, small, long-necked, and vulnerable. My friend, John Haines, of many missionary travels, gave it to me. I use it to remind me of the scripture “You have collected all my tears in your bottle. (Psalm 58:6) Can you even imagine the tear storage system God needs to catalog, preserve, and warehouse our tears? I can’t. While I have never collected my own tears, the tear bottle is simple reminder of the greater truth that God knows every gri

You can always find someone building something. It is entrepreneurial, visionary, forward-moving work. I walked through new-builds in Georgia as we tried to locate a new place to live. They were clean, empty shells, almost sterile with their unused history. However, I can assure you that the building process was messy. If you have ever tackled a renovation project, you know. Dust everywhere. Tools and equipment strewn. It makes even the hearty wonder if it is worth it.