What the World (REALLY) Needs Right Now
About a month ago, as I sat before a blank screen and blinking cursor, I prayed, Lord, what do you want me to write? My heart was heavy from devastating headlines and a divided world. Families at odds,...
View ArticleThree Healing Choices After You Make a Mistake
On the first day I had my driver’s license, I hopped in my new-to-me 1978 Chrysler Cordoba with the grand mission of driving to my godmother’s house to drop off a letter. It was a made-up errand so I...
View ArticleThe Scandal of God’s Mercy
He was furious. And only the glass of the driver’s side window separated us. I knew he wanted me to lower my window, but I hesitated, bracing myself for whatever happened next. A few minutes before,...
View ArticleThe Slow Road to Reconciliation
Hello. I’m Karina and I’m a slow processor. When I say slow, I mean, ridiculously slow. Think of molasses. When I’m hurt, forgiveness, for me, is the easy part. Forgiveness is an act of the will. I...
View ArticleThat’s Not Fair and I Want Justice
Not long ago, I was reading Matthew 5 in my Bible and said to myself, “Holy moly! The Lord is setting us straight.” I barely got through three paragraphs when I began feeling the conviction. Today,...
View ArticleThe Paper Cuts of a Longing Heart
Paper cuts hurt more than other cuts.Though small, they sting — they demand attention. My daughter will tell you that, as sure as the sky is blue, paper cuts are the worst. In fact, when my daughter...
View ArticleTo Dwell in the House of the Lord Right Now
I held her hand in mine. The sounds of the hospital hummed all around us, just outside the door of her room. I could hear the nurses and other patients, background noise that didn’t provide any...
View ArticleThe Amazing Thing That Can Happen When We’re Simply Living Out Our Faith
As a life plan advisor at a retirement community, I’m part of a marketing team whose office is about 100 yards from administration. That means a lot of back and forth when I’m busy, so my step count –...
View ArticleWhen You Have a Nasty Neighbor
“See that house next door?” My friend pointed out her window. “If our church wasn’t so close, I’d move in a heartbeat. She’s a horrible neighbor and there’s nothing I can do to please her. I know from...
View ArticleHow My Grandma’s Forgiveness Footsteps Saved My Life
My grandmother was born at a time when African Americans, both young and old, referred to any mature Black woman as “Ms.”, which meant that everyone on the Black side of my small town called my...
View ArticleHe Said How Many Times?
I felt the weight of my morning schedule as it derailed. Dashing into the Bible study room, I scrambled to find an open seat. I hate being late, especially when I’m the new person, so with a frazzled...
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Accepting God’s Forgiveness Means Letting It Stay Finished
For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. The Lord is like a father...
View ArticleMake It Hard to Be Offended
I have a confession to make. When I was new to conversations on race and culture, I got upset a lot . . . like a lot a lot. There was the time a random woman behind me in the check out lane at the...
View ArticleGiving Up Your Bitterness and Praying the Prayer You Don’t Want To
I had a particularly difficult season in business last year. In a co-worker’s own hurt of perhaps not being admired any longer, listened to, or valued, she became insolent — to the point of saying...
View ArticleHope for When You’ve Messed Up
My fingers flew through Schumann’s Papillons as the audience in the recital hall watched and listened. I had practiced this piano piece for months. As I focused on playing the correct black and white...
View ArticleWhat God Can Do with the Shattered Pieces of Your Heart
For the Times You Are Tempted to Walk Away from God That Sunday morning started gray and cloudy, with rain expected before noon. Crushed gravel crunched beneath my pumps as we walked toward the...
View ArticleGiving Grace Even to Those Who Might Not Deserve It
This past year, I chose to host a Christmas table at our church holiday brunch. I decorated it with miniature plastic pine trees from home and borrowed battery-operated candles from the table next to...
View ArticleHow Forgiving Others Truly Sets Us Free
I’d lost count of the hurt. At one point long ago, I kept a mental tally of the words and woundings, but eventually the list turned into a tangled mess. Instead of looking at each painful memory one by...
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The Greatest Ruining of My Life
When I first discovered my husband was having an affair, my whole world quite literally fell apart. I had put my identity in being a good Christian wife, with a good Christian family, sitting in the...
View ArticleA Forgiveness Beyond Comprehension
I used to keep a mental highlight reel of my worst offenses. At the end of even the best day, my brain could hit the play button, and as scenes of my sins scrolled across the screen of my mind, I...
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