by David Anderson
In an age of doubt and—worse—of apathy and cynicism, we all struggle to “believe.” We can’t believe what we blindly accepted as a child; many passages from the Bible are either confounding or troubling; taken literally, the Creed is a bridge too far. Faith or spirituality was always presented as a matter of “belief”—what you […]
by David Anderson 3 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Belief, Change, Daily Practice, Faith in Action, Faithfulness
Routines, habits, daily rituals are important. Get up, make the coffee, feed the dog, get the paper, shower, leave for work. Habits are efficient. If you had to get up every morning and think, “Now, what should I do first?” you’d still be sitting on the edge of your bed at noon. The downside is, […]
by David Anderson 4 Comments Filed Under: Change, Rest/Sabbath, Seeing
I sat in a group a few weeks ago—it was a group of clergy, and someone whose ministry I really respect began to speak of the challenges to his spiritual life. Don said, “Parish life can take it out of me. I get busy, then I get overwhelmed—and my spiritual life suffers. I ‘don’t have […]
by David Anderson Leave a Comment Filed Under: Change, Daily Practice, Faithfulness, Prayer/Meditation
Traditions and rituals that surround prayer and worship are essential. I can’t sit for prayer in the morning until I have made a cup of tea and a small plate of fruit. It’s part of my ritual. I do it most mornings before I am actually awake! But this is the glory of ritual—when I […]
by David Anderson 3 Comments Filed Under: Adult Spirituality, Change, Daily Practice, Prayer/Meditation
“Flight attendants, prepare for landing.” The captain’s voice is always calm, a studied calm, a Houston-we-have-a-problem calm. Landing means we must leave this glassy smooth cruising altitude of 30,000 feet and bump our way through the lumpy atmosphere below the clouds. I heard the captain’s words Saturday on final approach to JFK, returning home from […]
by David Anderson 12 Comments Filed Under: Change, Faith/Trust, Fear
I once worked with a stone mason who was repairing a great fireplace, with the chimney stoned all the way from the mantle to the cathedral ceiling peak. He stood back and surveyed the stone work. “What makes this artwork, what makes it beautiful is not a bunch of same-size stones all perfectly lined up […]
by David Anderson 7 Comments Filed Under: Change, Forgiveness, Grace, Reality--trusting it, Surrender
I spoke with three people on Sunday whose life-as-usual had dead-ended. For two it was a life-altering illness. For the other it was a lost job. It was a typical Sunday, really—I suppose I stopped and talked to twenty people between three services, a parish picnic and a hospital call. These days, world unsettled as […]
by David Anderson 2 Comments Filed Under: Change, Faith/Trust, Fear, Letting Go, Now/ the Present, Reality--trusting it, Vocation/ Calling
The single challenge of life is change. We don’t like it, yet we know it is the only constant. Every day we get up and . . . things have changed. Nothing is where we left it last night. Not the kids, not the dog, not the roses in the garden. Everything we had just […]
by David Anderson 4 Comments Filed Under: Change, Faith/Trust, Grace, Happiness, Letting Go, Now/ the Present, Reality--trusting it, Surrender