prayer

Unanswered prayers and the unexpected things in life

The young lady was my heart’s desire. She was my long-time prayer. This, when I was a much younger version of myself. It was on the 11th day of the 11th month when her letter arrived. She wrote briefly and dispassionately. Her words drained the room of colour.

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On gardening, grace and writing

(The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday, October 8, 2016)

MUKONO, UGANDA ✦ Someone (a writer, naturally) once said that writing is like prayer. Prayer, it seems to me, is like gardening. I’ve struggled with all three.

The small garden behind our African home is testament to this. Many seasons it’s been a disappointing annoyance. Nearby trees steal valuable sunlight and nutrients. I suppose the space should never have been chosen to start.

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Dark news on Good Friday

The horrible news of the attack at Garissa University College in neighbouring Kenya came shortly after we, as a family, attended Good Friday services this morning. The al-Shabab attack that killed at least 147, not far from the Somalian border, was in an area known for its instability, at a relatively small and certainly vulnerable

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What’s better than wine and stronger than death?

When you’re an 11-year-old and a boy in your class asks you to go out and it’s the day before Valentine’s Day and he even gives you a rose, what’s a girl to do? This was the situation yesterday for Liz. Of course, it takes great courage for a boy to muster all it takes

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On adoption, giving thanks and growing young

She’s  hardly a perfect girl, but there is one thing about our adopted daughter, Hannah, she can say things from time to time that show just how profoundly thankful she is to be in our family. Even at her young age — she’s just 8 — she knows enough about her own story. On the

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I believe in you. I love you. I am here.

They don’t say it in schools in Ontario anymore, of course, but in the day, they did, we all did, day after day, year after year, right alongside the playing of God Save the Queen, the prayer that is The Prayer, the one that is called the Lord’s Prayer. By the time I finished my

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