Hiking in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, I have sometimes taken the wrong trail. These unmarked paths seem inviting at first, but before too long they narrow and end, leaving...

As I took out the trash one afternoon, I saw a car approaching. The driver rolled down the window and said, “Hi.” I recognized her as one of my neighbors. She...

I had just returned from the market one morning when I was shocked by a message from my friends. They informed me that three churches in our city had been bombed....

As I grew up, I heard my parents say that God is everywhere. I used to wonder, How can God be everywhere when I cannot see God? But after I started...

When I was younger I looked forward to retirement as a time when I would do something great for God. I envisioned a missionary trek where I would bring hope to...

Recently, I was going through a difficult time. I went to the church atrium to pray and try to find peace. In the atrium, I admired the birds perched on the...

When I was 11 years old, a new family joined our church. Alex, the 13-year-old boy in this family, was a bit of a wild child. I mostly avoided Alex because...

As a nurse in a busy surgical-oncology unit, I was feeling depleted. Slumped into a pew in the quiet hospital chapel, I gazed mindlessly at a group of candles in the...

During a trip to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary, my wife and I had the opportunity to see a glassblower at work. It was fascinating to watch. He blew through the...

Five years ago, my firstborn son was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. This life-threatening disease requires checking his blood sugar and dosing him with insulin several times a day. At the...