Our third year of marriage unexpectedly found my husband looking for a new job. His company had undergone massive layoffs, and Rich’s department was among them. With many unknowns suddenly facing us, Rich began meeting with recruiters and mapping out potential interviews. Attracted to the quaintness and quietness of Vermont, we decided to set our sights there. We began praying while staying open to God’s leading, and trusted His hand to be upon the process. Over the following three months, Rich sent numerous resumes to prospective companies in Vermont, and throughout the northeast. He landed some interviews, but to our disappointment,…
I woke to the steady rhythm of waves pounding on the shore, the unremitting rise and fall of the tide easing me out of the night’s slumber. Outside my window, the beach where folks leisurely walked the night before now covered in water. High tide. Though powerful and dangerous, there’s something calming about the sight and sound of the ocean—the constancy of the waves’ ebb and flow relaxing, reassuring. Here we see God’s majesty on full display, and gazing out at the endless sea, we become small. Through summer’s warm sunny days, people gather here to enjoy the water, the…
A few days ago I lost my favorite watch. After stumbling through the day feeling like part of my arm was missing, that evening I found my watch. What joy! A few days later, however, remembering the lost watch incident, my joy was not as intense. After a week, the joy had completely faded away. Yet at that moment the watch was not lost again! So what happened here? Simply that what was now lost wasn’t again the watch, but the joy in finding it! Chinese Christian teacher Watchman Nee likens such an example to the Christian experience. He wrote…
On Sunday, my husband and I traveled 2 ½ hours to visit a quaint country church we know and love. The pastor there is one of the most peaceful people I know. As I’ve gotten to know him over the years, I’ve realized the deep and abiding calmness he carries comes from the personal relationship he keeps with the Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus told us He was leaving us with peace—His peace—what did He mean? Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your…
There’s nothing I enjoy more than being on the ice, figure skating. The freedom of movement, the cold air, gliding to music, I find invigorating. While skating, I am immersed in the moment, the rest of the day put on hold. Yet I didn’t always experience this pure enjoyment. For many years I took lessons in ice dancing. A group of us adults would take tests, working to move up the ranks of the sport. In my drive to excel, I sometimes deprived myself of enjoying the day’s practice—by focusing on my paucity of progress, or comparing myself to someone…
