I look left, then right, and left again. The road is clear and, pushing pedal toward the floor, I pull onto the winding road. As I accelerate into the turn, a hawk merges with me, flying a few yards both above and ahead of my …
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The Parable of the Smile
To the casual observer she appeared quite normal. She met the required features of a little girl, which is to say she was cute as a button through and through. Fine hair, an adorably distinct nose, and eyes that smiled for the world. Any parent …
Read MoreThe red light
Driving along the highway, my eyes lay on the road before me – the cars, the turn signals, and the race to wherever home may be. “Hey, Dad!” calls the four-year-old voice from the back of the car. “Look at that sunset – it looks just …
Read MoreBlack-eyed Susan and the sun
The sun beat down on the growing cluster of black-eyed Susan as each flower below stretched skyward, a sea of yellow and black hoping to touch the fiery heaven above. Like looking into a kaleidoscope when gazed at too intently and too long, the colors …
Read MoreThere’s an app for that
Man looks down in his hands and taps on his toy, checking the weather and reporting his findings. God already created an app for that, I think to myself. And I look toward the sky…
Read MoreEaster morn
Looking out the kitchen window on Easter morning, I discover four cardinals perched in the branches of the ornamental dogwood tree. Though spring has arrived, the tree still holds onto its winter dress – woody branches and nothing more. Its buds, leaves and blooms have …
Read MoreThe litterer
My daughter is a litterer. Coming home from work at night, or taking out the trash, or while picking up fallen branches in the yard, every so often I’ll discover a piece of bright construction paper perched in a bush or laying on the lawn. …
Read MoreHeaven on earth
If there is ground in heaven, I believe it must be covered with a thick layer of fallen pine needles. If there is music in heaven, I believe it must be the wind brushing against the land as spirits travel through the sky. If there …
Read MoreCicada killers
The wasp glided by my legs, slow and low like a giant airliner that somehow takes flight despite its enormous size. Likewise, the wasp seemed to defy gravity, for it carried in its legs a motionless cicada nearly twice its size. Paralyzed by the hunter’s …
Read More"Let it be."
A friend wrote to me today: “Life is only too busy if we let it be.” It was a shared sentiment. Too often the busyness of life prevents us from getting down to the business of life. That is to say, living. Days and weeks …
Read More"…and there was light."
As I climb out of bed in the dark of night, electrons dance across the static-laden sheets in a crinkling display of blue light. A moment later and I peer out the bathroom window. Fireflies are busy taking ownership of the night with their random, silent …
Read MoreFlight to heaven
She died two years to the day after her husband. They spent their later years within earshot of the ocean, and called the beach their home. After the funeral, again two years to the day after her husband, family likewise gathered within earshot of the …
Read MoreSunday morning
The boy sat there in his high-chair eating breakfast. Between spoonfuls of cereal, he looked up and declared: “It sure is a good day for having a great day.” I laughed at his words, but at the same time realized how simplistically profound they were. His …
Read MoreAntiphon of the goose
Sister Moon and the stars shone above, while Brother Fire danced his playful dance below. I sat in the glow of both, their light warming both body and soul. Alone. Time literally flew by while the world wobbled on its axis, Sister Earth spinning and …
Read MoreSleeping moon
Looking skyward, the crescent moon stood out in the winter eve, its light reflecting off the snowy ground. Something seemed amiss, however. When one pictures the crescent moon, the image that inevitably comes to mind is a lunar sliver pointing left or right in the …
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