Can you be completely unworthy, but also believe you are unconditionally lovable? In Christianity, this is a common underpinning to understanding God’s love. I’ve long struggled with the emotional disconnect between the two. I used to bridge the gap with guilt. Nowadays God and I have a reproach-free relationship. Does that make me arrogant or […]
The heroes of Thanksgiving are the family cooks. They chop, slice, dice and roast. Like mathematicians, they figure out how to stagger five roasting pans over eight hours using one oven. They make it look so easy, greeting guests with a breezy, “Come on in!” even as they tick off a mental to-do list with […]
(Photo by Suzette Martinez Standring, Houghton’s Pond, Milton, MA) Thanksgiving celebrates togetherness and family feasting, and perhaps, it also calls for restraint. I am not talking about the groaning buffet and ten desserts. I am talking about not talking about hot button issues. Live for the greater good and show mercy to the poor cook […]
On Veterans Day, the enormity of war speaks. Acres of marble crosses face modern Manila in the Philippines, forever recalling the sacrifices made by American soldiers and Filipino allies during World War II. I was born in the U.S. of Filipino ancestry, and this is a “roots” trip for me. One powerful stop was the […]
(Photo of All Hallows Roman Catholic Church, my childhood parish. From San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library. http://www.sfpl.org/sfphotos When all the shouting’s done, humble goodness shines forever. Temporary power and posturing are empty calories that disappear. But quiet strength continues to nourish decades later. I remember Mercedes, an old woman whose last name I […]