by David Anderson
The hardest thing to do is to accept another person as they are. That truth resounded once more this week as I listened to a woman talk about a struggle with her sister. They were often at odds, she said, because their lives were so—blood—similar and yet so completely different. They had different career goals, […]
by David Anderson 7 Comments Filed Under: Conflict, Family, Freedom, Letting Go, Love
Sunday afternoon found me visiting the “Senior Living” facility here in town. As these places go, Atria is the Brigadoon. Sunny, pleasant, watercolors dotting the walls. But even so, women (mostly women, of course) sit along the hallways with nothing to do, nowhere to go, no one to see. I found my way to the […]
by David Anderson 10 Comments Filed Under: Abundance, Adult Spirituality, Death/Dying, Faith/Trust, Fear, Freedom, Letting Go, Reality--trusting it, Surrender, Uncategorized
Life each day presents us with the unknown. What will happen? What will not happen? Our great fear is simply not knowing what comes next—and our ultimate fear is of the end. What happens when we die? The big fear—of death—is expressed in all the little fears that roil our hearts, the hundred things each […]
by David Anderson 7 Comments Filed Under: Awareness, Death/Dying, Faith/Trust, Fear, Heaven, Hope, Letting Go, Love, Now/ the Present, Reality--trusting it
Pam spent last night sleeping in a chair beside her father’s hospital bed. He is dying. “It is like sitting with someone who is giving birth,” Pam said. “It’s hard work. It can be frightening—you need strength and courage to undergo this suffering, this ordeal, to bring a life to birth. And,” she said, “it’s […]
by David Anderson 15 Comments Filed Under: Death/Dying, Family, Letting Go, Now/ the Present, Reality--trusting it, Waiting
The message of Easter is very simple. When something dies, bury it. Then walk away, let it be. The Bible says three days—let it be for three days. That’s how long Jesus was in the tomb. That’s how long Jonah was buried in the belly of the sea monster. “Three days” is biblical language for […]
by David Anderson 5 Comments Filed Under: Faith/Trust, Hope, Letting Go, Now/ the Present, Reality--trusting it, Uncategorized
Palm Sunday is also known as the Sunday of the Passion, and since we’re big into passion (as in “What are you passionate about?”) we might assume that this is the moment when Jesus gets really charged up and busy doing a lot of incredible things. Passion comes from the Latin “passio” which means “suffering,” […]
by David Anderson 6 Comments Filed Under: Faith/Trust, Grace, Letting Go, Mercy, Surrender
“I have a great quote for you!” It was my friend Judy—the first thing she said to me when we met on a retreat this weekend. “Let me have it.” I said. “Change is inevitable,” Judy said, “growth is optional.” I nodded and we both smiled. I saw a tee shirt once that said, “Change is […]
by David Anderson 6 Comments Filed Under: Change, Faith/Trust, Faithfulness, Happiness, Letting Go, Reality--trusting it, Surrender
I am at Pendle Hill, a Quaker retreat center outside Philadelphia. Like all retreat centers it is a refuge of quiet, a place of reflection, a deliberate exit from the fast lane of contemporary life. The buildings are Pennsylvania fieldstone, circa 1930, small, spare, rather cold (Quakers waste nothing, especially fuel oil), but with roaring […]
by David Anderson 2 Comments Filed Under: Faith/Trust, Letting Go, Prayer/Meditation, Reality--trusting it