The ward’s halls are paved with anxiety, painted with sighs and patched over with prayer. COVID and other nasty body snatchers hover. But she stands at the nursing station, pen in hand, checking charts. She’s young. Calm. Pretty. And pretty weary. Three more hours till she can leave. Her littles …
Was it the pandemic’s second or third wave? I can’t recall. But the doorbell rang at supper. I answered it and found a grandchild, standing alone, tears streaming like silver ribbons. Our daughter’s car waited at the end of the driveway. COVID protocol aside, what else is a grandmother to …
These are excellent times to prove the truth of God-inspired words of scripture. Ancient words promising that even in hard times, following Christ brings serenity, peace and joy. I miss talking about this with my Bible study friends. Most of us were working women, grabbing a warm island of companionship …
Just thirteen months ago, who could have imagined the things Canadians are experiencing right now? We scarcely recognize ourselves as the indomitable Western society we were just over a year ago. God has used the pandemic to humble us. I have shopped in person only rarely since COVID restrictions began. …
In 2004, my cousin Eldonna and I travelled to India. During part of our time in that country, we stayed with an Indian family I’d only known through correspondence. While there, we received news that Eldonna’s mother in Saskatchewan had died unexpectedly. With no cell phones, we hadn’t been in …
At this writing, our globe has grappled with COVID-19 for almost a year. It has changed everything for too many people, and too many things for everyone. “I don’t want a new normal,” my friend said, referring to those pandemic changes. She stamped her foot a bit and fumed. “I—we …
COVID-19, with all its adjustments, terrors and sorrows will pass in time. Remember how difficult things were at the start of the pandemic panic, when everyone learned we must keep our distance from anyone not in our own household? Early in 2020, after the Preacher and I moved nearby them, …
One day, God willing and should the earth last so long, our grandchildren will tell their children that they lived through COVID-19, just as elderly survivors of other pandemics and deadly diseases, have spoken of it to their children and grandchildren. Stories of hardship, of fear and faith and frailty. …
“Even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me,” we read in the beloved twenty-third Psalm. In these fear-heavy days, God still walks and talks with us. And when some of us sicken, and some die, he is there too. His presence is …
An embarrassing truth confronts us all. We first-world emperors have no clothes after all. Reassurances of our own lordship, the thoughts that have clothed most of us for most of our lives (we are what we make of ourselves, unconquerable, masters of our own destiny, no God necessary) have toppled …
