Our garden continues to teach me about life. This week Mick and I had the rare opportunity to work in the garden together. We tilled up the rows that flooded and prepared to mound them like the rows of mounds that not only survived the heavy rains, but thrived in them. We decided to do three rows of alternating mounds with the center row offset from the other two. Mick and I began working simultaneously. I envisioned us working side by side in rhythm down the length of the garden, but I quickly became frustrated. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get my mounds in the right place or to the right size. I seemed to be […]
The Sickness
The natural light is bright outside the vision clinic. Birds are singing and a raw wind ruffles my hair. As we pass a holly bush, my son asks if the berries are edible. I answer his question in the warmth of the sun, then open the double swinging doors that lead to the lobby. My eyes adjust to the florescent light in the dim waiting room. The assistant immediately takes my son back while I survey the room for a suitable seat. The corners are taken; the row along the back is full. The only remaining option is poor, but adequate: a fake leather arm chair in the center of the space. The room is quiet with tapping and shuffling […]
On Community, from The Grapes of Wrath
I snagged a copy of Steinbeck’s famous novel The Grapes of Wrath at a used bookstore a few weeks ago. Because we recently watched Ken Burns’ documentary on the Dust Bowl, Mick picked up the book while the images were fresh in hopes of being able to read it in context. He shared this rich passage with me, and I immediately saw parallels for what Christian community can be as we embrace this shared life together. Enjoy. The cars of the migrant people crawled out of the side roads onto the great cross-country highway, and they took the migrant way to the West. In the daylight they scuttled like bugs to the westward; and as the dark caught them, they […]