He looked at me in the face, and he was angry, he was angry because he was confronted with an uncomfortable truth. The truth he was confronted with was the stark reality that his words and his actions didn’t match. And being confronted with that reality made me the object of his wrath. He was angry at me. And I hated that. It is never really very fun to deal with the…
Do you know what a “Lament” is? It is defined as “a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning.” Laments are really not very stylish in today’s modern world. We too often expend great amounts of energy and effort to hide from unpleasant truths or sadness. After all, the number one prescription in America is an antidepressant! Modern…
When I was a boy, I thought my grandmother smelled like the prettiest lady in the world. She came from the day when a lady didn’t leave the house without a proper dress, handbag, hat, and gloves. To this day when I smell a certain perfume, I am immediately transported back in time to walking hand in hand with my grandmother. But that makes sense, because the sense of smell is one…
The news is grim as nations near and far discuss military action in response to the civil war raging in Syria. The US talks of “going it alone” as the British Parliament votes “no” on intervention at this time. Israelis gather gas masks for their families to prepare for retaliatory strikes in the event of any missile attack on Damascus. And Egypt and surrounding Arab countries debate the political fallout in the…
I learned a new word today: insouciant. It means “showing a casual lack of concern; indifferent.” I was reading an article from The Telegraph, a paper out of Britain, concerning the economic impact of emerging markets on the world economy. Heady stuff! And most of which I simply didn’t understand. But I was intrigued with the word “insouciant.” It seemed to capture the attitude of the moment in our pop culture society.…
Let’s see; thinking of things that go great together – ham and eggs, peanut butter and jelly, Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, Tom and Jerry, a crisps, cool morning and a warm cup of coffee, bacon and, well more bacon! OK, so that’s a bit silly, but there are some things in life that simply always go together. It is understanding the power of these pairings that help us see deeper into…
Ever heard this phrase before: “The tyranny of the urgent”? I read a quote from someone that said “stress makes you believe everything has to happen right now, but faith allows you to trust in God’s timing.” It never ceases to amaze me to see the frenzied activities of modern life. But it does no good to complain about the pace of our lives if we are unwilling to look deeply into…
Platitudes can be absolutely infuriating when you are in pain. And, usually, a person in pain hears things like “Oh, just trust God” or “into each life a little rain must fall” as uncaring dismissals of their very real heartache. To be sure, most folks mean well, but deep in their own hearts they are afraid of getting too close to pain lest it capture them. Let’s face it, folks avoid pain.…
Someone once said that God has four answers to our prayers: “Yes”, “No”, “Wait a while”, and “You’ve got to be kidding me!” When I think of our requests we make of God, I find my own requests break down into a few categories – Personal needs, Family concerns, Parish concerns, and Hopes and Fears. But one of the blessings of being Orthodox is that the wise prayers preserved in the Faith…
“That’s not fair!” My daughter was quite upset over what she perceived to be a bigger piece of cake given to her sister. The depth of indignant and obvious heartfelt wound was unmistakable in the tone of her voice, her crossed arms, and the tears welling in her eyes. She was righteously fighting for what was “fair.” She would accept nothing less than absolute equality so as to affirm her equal status…
