Just let down your arms
There was a farmer who had a lot of fields, and he kept all the birds and creatures away from his crops with traps and fences. He was very successful. But he was also very lonely. So, one day, he stood…
Enter at your own risk
We walked along the shore of Lake Michigan, on the campus of Northwestern University, our backdrop the straight-edge line of a powder-blue horizon toward the east, and the Chicago skyline to the south. My friend and I had nowhere to go, and weren't in…
Open Heart
I spent last Wednesday with an animated group of teachers—St. Augustine’s in Vancouver, BC. Their retreat, before a new school year. Our topic, an invitation to create sanctuary, allowing us to honor habits that sustain our wellbeing. We began the…
Talk to me like I’m a human
The shot is true, a low laser, past an outstretched goalie, into the corner of the net. After he scores, Mr. Parker performs a joy-unrestrained airborne jig, and bumps torsos with another teammate as the fans dance and cheer, GOOOOOOAL! What makes this story so special? Mr. Parker has only one leg. The other was amputated during…
Let us remember who we are
"All we're asked to do is to be in the world who God is,” Fr. Gregory Boyle reminds us. “Certainly, compassion was the wallpaper of Jesus' soul, the contour of his heart, it was who he was. I heard someone say…
You’ve got a friend
Tommy was his parent's pride and joy. A very bright, creative and contented little boy, he began kindergarten with his parent's certainty that he would flourish. At the end of the first week, Tommy brought home pictures he had colored. His mother and father…
Let your light spill
The Sunday-school teacher asked her 10-year-old students if they would be willing to give $1,000,000 to missionary work for children and families in need. "Yes," they all screamed in unison. "Very good. Would you give $1000?" "Yes!" "Good. Would you give $1?" The class responded, "Yes," except…
Invited to dance
Sometimes, life turns left. And can leave us bewildered or floundering. As if what we count on or believe, has been reshuffled. More than ever, we need stories to remind us that all is not lost. Stories that make space…
You have a voice
I never played the game Giants, Wizards and Dwarfs. But Robert Fulghum makes me wish I had. He tells the story about being left in charge of eighty children seven to ten years old, while their parents were off doing…
Tonic for the soul
Mary had grown up knowing that she was different from the other kids, and she hated it. Born with a cleft palate, Mary would hear the jokes and tolerate the stares of other children (some cruel, others, simply curious) who…
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