Life requires so much waiting, but for me, there is one bit of waiting that supersedes them all. It is the painfully slow waiting to actually learn the art of mothering. My first baby, and two others after him, were each placed naked on my chest, crinkly-skinned and helpless, after three arduous labors and deliveries. And what can I say? I was woefully unprepared, but I took them home anyway and I’ve done my absolute best…

It was an exchange I'd found myself in more than once before. Another mom friend was musing aloud with me about various schooling options for her oldest child. After a few minutes, I couldn't keep track of where we were in the conversation. This school emphasized strong academics while that school prioritized spiritual formation. The university acceptances reported by this school appeared more impressive than that school. That school seemed more well-rounded while this other school swelled with elitism. I understood the reality of these considerations, but in the moment, the obvious overwhelm on my friend's face felt more important. "How are you doing with the decision making process?" I asked…

It seems important to name our paradoxical relationship to struggle. We resist it, yet we must reckon with it, because struggle always invites us to name something true about our reality, our need, and our hope.

Struggle offers us a powerful impetus to name our reality. After eating from the tree and realizing their own nakedness, Adam and Eve hide from God in the garden. In this scene, God does not sneak up on them. He does not chase them. The Lord God invites Adam and Eve out of their shame-stricken hiding with a question…

Fog meets water

Sun breaks through

Steaming fog bridges the distance between water and air,

Revealing the dark outlines of those mighty pines

Standing tall, standing true, unassuming yet strong.

Such beauty in both - the seen and the unseen,

the revealed and the mysterious.

A season for both - for everything under the sun…