Reflections
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The best mantra for discerning the will of God
There is something I find especially difficult about discernment: waiting. I am much more comfortable when I have an idea, make a decision, and get moving. My usual pattern has been: Get an…
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Hearing God in a New Season
Last week, my wife and I traveled to Maine. Visiting Bar Harbor, Acadia National Park, and Portland had been on our bucket list for a long time. So had eating a lobster roll…
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A New Way to Pray When the Words Don’t Come
A New Way to Pray When Words Don’t Come Most of last week, my prayer felt like moving through fog. I showed up at the usual times, but felt nothing. I wasn’t upset…
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The story for a new season
One of my spiritual directees, a retired executive, described his plans for the next phase of life. As he spoke, a question rose in me almost unbidden: Whose story is this? The plans were…
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Bands of love that stretch but don’t break
Last week at the homeless shelter, I met two mothers. One was homeless. One was not. One had a homeless son. One did not. Yet both shared the same unbreakable bands of love.…
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When God made me, he grinned
Sometimes God places extraordinary people in our path. If we’re paying attention, they become our greatest spiritual teachers. Every Fourth of July, my wife and I vacation at Hilton Head. Each year, I…
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The slow arrival of the soul on vacation
My body arrives on vacation long before my soul does. This week, my wife and I are vacationing at Hilton Head Island. Like most vacations, our first day was filled with unpacking, grocery…
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Pouring out a thousand graces…
What do you do when the grace runs low? When my son called from Phoenix, he asked, “How was your Father’s Day?” I told him the truth: I took a long walk in…
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How God answers prayers in surprising ways
Some days God answers prayers in ways I would never choose. Driving to the homeless shelter recently, I prayed an unusual but heartfelt prayer: “Lord, please let there be no police officers…
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What I found in the heart of a Scottish castle
While visiting the Isle of Bute in Scotland, I toured Rothesay Castle, a thirteenth-century fortress once coveted by Scots, Norwegians, English forces, and the Lord of the Isles. For centuries, it was captured,…
