Seventeen years ago, my son was sentenced to life in prison. It was a time full of grief for many reasons and for so many people. As the courtroom emptied after...

In Psalm 120, it seems that the psalmist was getting frustrated at not finding any peace at all in his surroundings — or even the entire world. In a state of...

Walking down the sidewalk toward the old, two-story school building, I heard the happy voices of students in the courtyard. A new school year was beginning, with its many new experiences...

Our new apartment in a different part of the country abuts a small wooded ravine. One day after work, my wife asked me if I had heard the owl that morning....

The pungent smell of the durian often brings back fond childhood memories for me. My late father used to lug home gunny sacks of durians from Malaysia. My mother would line...

When I was in college, I worked at a beautiful summer camp far away from home. I had no time off, except for one week halfway through the summer. Like most...

Shortly before I retired from 40 years of teaching physical education, a young student gave me a red pipe cleaner, roughly shaped like a heart. I attached it to my clipboard...

I was going through a rough patch in my relationship with someone very dear to me. I felt that I had done nothing to deserve the painful words and attitudes. Angry...

I was born in Ryazan, Russia, in 1999. My parents were alcoholics who took me to bars when I was very young. A few days after my third birthday they lost...

When I was a young girl, my mother gave me a small box of cards containing God’s promises from scripture. Each morning before school, we selected one to read. Those promises...