One morning in my eighth grade social studies class, the teacher said, “The world is one-third Christian, twenty percent Muslim, and thirteen percent Hindu.” We thought that was the goofiest thing we had ever heard. Where I grew up in Mississippi, there were four religions—Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and heathen.
Catching a Glimpse
December 27, 2022 by
The first Christmas comes and goes, and most people don’t notice. Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and a few others catch a glimpse of what is happening, but they’re just a handful.
Thanksgiving Supper
November 23, 2022 by
At 10:30 on Thanksgiving Day, I am standing in a long line waiting for a box of Thanksgiving. We are not in a restaurant, as you might expect, but in a nondescript building—a VFW hall, Rotary Club hall, or Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall.
Death and Life
October 26, 2022 by
We lose so many good people. When Jesus finally arrives at his friends’ home, Lazarus has been dead for four days.
Homeward Bound
May 18, 2021 by
“I want to go home” is not just the plaintive cry of kindergarten students on the first day of school; it is the longing of every person who pays attention to his or her heart. For some, nothing is better than going home.
The Wind and the Spirit
March 23, 2021 by
What would you do differently if you could start over? What would you change if you could be born again? If I could edit my life, I would skip junior high football, wrecking my father’s car, and the last five minutes of my first date. I would stop my mother throwing away my baseball cards.
Formations 03.06.2016: What’s Your Comfort Food?
February 28, 2016 by
My grandparents kept a painting of Da Vinci’s The Last Supper hanging, fittingly, above their dining room table. We shared meals at that table on almost every major holiday, or birthday, or whenever relatives came to visit.