scripture

  • Romans 8:28

    Romans 8:28

    When we were little, we lived on the third floor of a triple-decker on Elmer Road in Dorchester. My mother told the story of one day up there with us: a four-year old, three-year old me, and our six-month old baby sister. Mom had gotten the groceries and three children up the three flights of…

  • Steps

    Steps

    After a busy couple of days of Christmas church singing, merrymaking, eating, and cleaning, I needed to clear my head, so I bundled up to walk in the sunny but frigid twenty-degree day. Podcast in my ears and eyes to the sky, I headed out. It was an icy, winding path, but the sun was…

  • See

    See

    December 23, 2017 Dear God, As we come to the end of 2017, I am reflecting on this year’s word: story. There certainly were ups and downs in these last twelve months, and things I couldn’t have predicted. At the start of the year, I could not have guessed how much I would rely on…

  • Ordained

    Ordained

    Late last night, I was reading my kindle next to my sleeping husband when I suddenly felt the presence of God. To me, it feels like a lightness in my chest and an overwhelming peace and awe. I’ve been fortunate to experience this a few times in my life, but, honestly, it had been a…

  • First

    First

    We were waiting for a table at Bickford’s, a very rare post-mass breakfast out with the family. I was probably only six or seven years old, but I vividly remember the smell of pancakes, my sisters and I huddled in the restaurant entryway in our winter coats. There was much more than syrup on my…

  • Rizpah

    My devotional led me to a scripture I’ve never read, and I can’t seem to let it go. In second Samuel, we hear the story of Rizpah.  She was a concubine of Saul, and by no fault of her own, had her two sons taken from her in repayment for Saul’s bloody deeds. Along with…

  • Boat

    Sometimes when I’m looking for a little direction, I’ll click on the ‘Laudate’ app on my phone, which contains the readings of the day. When I scan through, a phrase might pop out at me from a psalm or a gospel, or a whole reading might strike me in a new way, or some days…

  • Walk

    I am one of a small handful of women in the world who dislike getting pedicures. The language barrier and my ticklish feet are part of my discomfort, but the biggest issue I have is that I don’t like the feeling of being served. Today, as the temperature inched over seventy degrees for the first time…

  • Gifts

    There once was a girl who had lots of gifts. She could sing and tell stories and when she was well rested and filled with coffee and focus, she could be very kind. The girl went about her day looking for opportunities to be helpful and generous and she was those things, except for when…

  • Process

    I am running so super slowly all over town, and even though it’s mortifying, it’s by design. All of the best advice I’ve heard about increasing mileage is to extend your longest run of the week by time, not distance, and to run it as slowly as you can bear it. As I meander through…