In the small Fannin County Hospital, local ministers take turns being chaplain for a week. Fred Craddock tells about one of his assigned weeks when a baby was born. It creates quite a stir, because not a lot of babies are born in a thirty-bed hospital. Fred writes, “I went there, about nine in the [...]
In a memorable M*A*S*H* episode, there is a wounded bombardier who thinks he is Jesus. The camp is mixed. Some say he’s crazy, most say he’s doing an act in order to get discharged from the Army. One person in camp believes him. Radar O’Reilly. It’s time for the man’s release. Radar walks out to [...]
Today I walked across a bridge. The sun shines down from a bleached blue sky. The air may by cool, but our spirits don’t notice, as we stand and sing under the sign, Edmund Pettus Bridge. We are in Selma, Alabama on Bloody Sunday. And no, after today I will never be the same. I [...]
Do you know the story about the dog negotiating traffic, eluding Washington State Police, and crossing a bridge? (Yes, it sounds like aFar Side Cartoon.) But this was not just any bridge. Zeb, an Australian shepherd, crossed the “520 Bridge,” spanning Lake Washington. (For those keeping notes, the “520,” the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, is the longest floating bridge [...]
Mr. Rogers stepped out of a Manhattan subway train onto the platform. A group of people recognized him, including a young mother with her 6-year-old son. The boy brandished a Star Wars light saber, and was intent on whacking everything–and everyone–in his path. This included Mr. Rogers. The mother stood mortified, “Honey, please don’t hit [...]
There is a story about a kind, quiet man who prays in the Ganges River every morning. One day after praying, he sees a poisonous spider struggling in the water and cups his hands to carry it ashore. As he places the spider on the ground, it stings him. Unknowingly, his prayers for the world [...]
Some time ago, I saw a Robin walking down the street. He weighed about nine pounds, I am guessing. “Why are you walking?” I asked him. “Well,” he told me, “I’m trying to get some of this weight off.” “I did notice that you are kind of heavy,” I told him, “but I’m wondering, why [...]
When I was young, meditation or prayer was a requirement or compulsion. (Who am I kidding? I still fight it… and I’m not young anymore.) There is something about the sensation or gratification that we are on the “right” path. It is said that our journey begins when we lose our luggage. Yes. And the [...]
