One Quiet Life

The unbearable, energy-draining heat The non-stop political banter and back-biting The rapid pace of online debates The reality of my girl leaving home in less than four weeks Unexpected family health issues The combination of them can be exhausting. Despite my fatigue, my brain sometimes insists on performing mental gymnastics at bedtime. In these instances sleep evades me or, if it comes, is fitful. The next day I am on edge, more weary and more sensitive than the day before. I have finally put the merry-go-round behind me with the comfort of an evening ritual. I wrap the last 30 minutes of each day in beauty and truth. I set my Pandora station to Yo-Yo Ma Radio, pick up my stack of books and crawl into bed. First, I read soothing prose. This is not the time for an exciting, keep-me-on-the-edge-of-my-seat read. I deliberately seek a calming, rhythmic pace.  Wendell Berry is a favorite choice. Afterwards, I spend a few moments with the wisdom of Elisabeth Elliot...

Tears pooled in my eyes as I listened. I didn't know the man at the podium, but I was utterly surprised when he shared his testimony of God's faithfulness. I never would have suspected that he would choose to work with teenagers. He didn't look the part. But once he started speaking, his passion for older children and teens became evident. His love for the Gospel and sharing it with others was tangible. His words took me back to the time in my life when loving others and sharing the Gospel was part of me.  When serving was important. Has it really been seven years?  Not your typical North American soup kitchen Seven years since my eyes were opened... to the poverty that cripples much of our world to the depths of pain unknown in my comfortable life to the despair of those without the hope of the Gospel to the fact that there are families who feel blessed to live in ramshackle accommodations roughly equivalent to the size of my bedroom to th...