In the summer heat, when I feel like snoozing under the air conditioner for a siesta— baseball—like an umpire, nudges me in the ribs and whispers, “You better wake up, or you’ll miss it.” Miss what? The stuff of life that matters, that’s what: the essential things that so easily slip through your fingers, the …
Walking downstairs from my study to get a cup of coffee, I overheard Hoda Kotb on the NBC News morning show interviewing someone about walking. The gist of the interview was that walking is a simple exercise you can fit into almost any time or place. “Some people tell me they only have thirty minutes …
Standing in the hall outside the patient’s room at the long-term care facility, I heard her pleading: “Could someone help?” “Can I get someone for you?” I asked, poking my head in her door. “Oh yes, thank you,” she said before looking at me, as if my voice itself were that of an angel. I returned …
Like ancient Greeks at the Oracle of Delphi, many people wait, anticipating something prophetic from their loved one’s last words. Maybe it’s a revelation into the eternal, a release from guilt, or the secret to peace from life’s fray that people hope to hear. On rare occasions, it happens, as it did for those gathered …
“Lament: /ləˈment/ a passionate expression of grief or sorrow.” —dictionary.com “Isn’t it horrible,” two residents chime in unison at the long-term care facility where I make a pastoral visit. They point to the television, tuned to the news of the Texas school massacre. I had stepped into their room after walking down the hall, having prayed with …