“Why are you so melancholy?” my friend asked. I’ve known her for years. I had just walked into her hospital room. “I’ve been here for a month. I hear those prayers on the chaplain channel every week. You are always a little sad.” “Can I sit down,” I asked. She nodded. “Two reasons, I guess. […]

We are not called to be John the Baptist, most of us. There was, after all, only one John. But what he did was worth examining. When he started preaching, he invited people to repent. To acknowledge that the way they were living their lives wasn’t working. simply was not working. “Tell God that you […]

God. I am supposed to have answers and clarity and direction. I am supposed to offer structure and encouragement and order. I am supposed to. And I cannot. Or better, at the moment, in this moment, I have few words, little clarity. I have, we all have, been through weeks that are overwhelming. We have […]

“Today is Thursday.” My schedule is haphazard. I work at the hospital Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. I do other work the other days. That’s why Nancy and I often remind each other of the day. “Today is December 1.” Though months are arbitrary, those divisions can help us with planning and preparing and marking time. And […]

More from Rich Dixon: +++ I told you about my first 2-block ride. What’s the point of backtracking? God Says: Forget the former things;            do not dwell on the past.See, I am doing a new thing!            Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? To me, the implication is that God’s always up to […]