If we pay attention to our tears, they'll show us something about ourselves.

...what I can do is offer myself, wholehearted and present, to walk with the people I love through the fear and the mess. That's all any of us can do. That's what we're here for.

In many cases, change is not a function of life's cruelty but instead a function of God's graciousness.

When things fall apart, the broken pieces allow all sorts of things to enter, and one of them is the presence of God.

Many of the most deeply spiritual moments of my life haven't happened just in my mind or in my soul. They happened while holding my son in the middle of the night, or watching the water break along the shore, or around my table, watching the people I love feel nourished in all sorts of ways.

I believe that God is making all things new. I believe that Christ overcame death and that pattern is apparent all through life and history: life from death, water from a stone, redemption from failure, connection from alienation. I believe that suffering is part of the narrative, and that nothing really good gets built when everything's easy.

If we pay attention to our tears, they'll show us something about ourselves.