It was a sacred moment, and I didn’t even know it.  Like a rite of passage, or some evangelical Bar Mitzvah, these seasoned young believers had gathered around their mentor, ready to receive the blessing and the commission.  I was a last minute addition, mostly because I was always hanging around, but also because I had been allowed into this meeting.  The question was going around the room, like a communion cup.  The question seemed to stir deep thought.  Each young man wanted to give the right answer, the answer that most indicated they knew God, and were ready to take the baton, and run the next leg of the race. The question, “What do you want out of your life?”, seemed ...

Her father had left them alone with their mother when she was only five years old. Nevertheless, even at this tender age, she was the oldest of four, and due to her mother’s instability she began to take on the responsibility of raising her siblings. Mom’s meltdowns were sometimes dangerous and left the kids without adult care, so she spent her entire childhood taking care of everyone but herself. In the meantime, her dad began a new family and completely ignored the four kids from his first family. When I met her, she was in her forties and had endured a series of failed relationships, dealt with bouts of depression and addiction, and was filled with anger against the father who had ...

We had moved into a new home and like any homeowner, we began to prioritize projects.  Right outside the kitchen window were two trees, both of them completely choked with thick vines.  The larger tree seemed to have grown above the reach of these heavy vines, while the smaller, a mimosa tree, had succumbed to the chokehold of these aggressive plants.  All of the branches ended in dead wood. No green could be seen anywhere.  I assumed the tree was dead, and it was on my list of to-do’s.  Cut down the dead tree outside the kitchen window. One sunny day, I walked past the tree and saw something that surprised me.  A small sprout with about five green leaves was growing from the ...

She turned the corner he saw her and his breathing stopped.  Her form was a silhouette against the stained glass behind her, when she moved forward his heart beat faster.  She was beautiful and she was giving herself to him today.  She glided down the aisle and the light illuminated her dress.  He could hardly wait for her to come to his side.  In a few moments he would lift the veil, and kiss the woman he loved. The veil separated them, though it was only a sheer fabric.  It was enough to obscure his view.  They stood face to face, and still could not see each other the way that they would soon.  For a moment she felt fear; what would he feel when he sees her?  Then she rested ...

He looked affectionately at the man He had made.  He had taken some of His own heart and put it in there.  He could see His Spirit roaming around inside the man.  What He had deposited there would one day rejoin Him in a one-of-a-kind re-union. The desire for that moment would grow every day until it happened.  But He understood what was happening, and He had the advantage of Eternal Patience.  The man understood less and would have more trouble with the tension of waiting.  To help the man in his longing for this reunion, the Eternal One excitedly prepared to unfold the next phase.  This step was going to be a fun one. “Look around”, He told the man, “do you see anyone or ...