There’s someone I’m grieving right now, and it’s one of the most intense griefs I’ve ever known. The importance of feeling all the things has been very clear to me. The need to feel the pain, but also the desperate need to feed myself with beauty so … Continue readingAshes into Beauty
One of the most empowering and life giving things anybody ever said to me was that there’s an emotional volatility that tends to go with the territory of being an artist, and it’s a crucible of creativity. That pierced me. It took what I had long seen … Continue readingCrucible of Creativity
I live between two cemeteries, and it’s a place ripe for so many thoughts and longings. I also get to see so many people who are there in a moment of particular attunement to their own loves and longings. Recently I saw a man in … Continue readingLonging
“Can you drink the cup that I must drink, or be baptized with the baptism with which I must be baptized?” Jesus asks his disciples in Mark 10:38. When they impulsively insist that they can, he tells them, “The cup that I must drink you shall … Continue readingCan You Drink the Cup?
“While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him tenderly. Then his son said, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I … Continue readingThe Walk Home
A couple weeks ago I went on an art retreat. One night, we went around the room and each shared our creative process, and that really moved me. We’d been talking about how our creativity is one of the ways that we reflect who God is—God, of … Continue readingCreativity
“One of the Pharisees invited Jesus to a meal. When he arrived at the Pharisee’s house and took his place at table, a woman came in, who had a bad name in town. She had heard he was dining with the Pharisee and had brought with her … Continue readingSuch Great Love
A story of God delighting in delighting us. A couple months ago I was on retreat at the local monastery. I brought my paints, and intended to do a lot of painting while I was there, but I couldn’t think of anything to paint. I was in … Continue readingSparrow