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be gentle with you.
2020 is so tough, but sometimes you can catch glimpses of the sun peeking through. Every which way I turn, I see more suffering… illness, death, racial injustice, devastating loss due to wildfires and natural disasters, poverty, abuse, and regular, everyday losses that seem like luxuries to grieve given everything happening in the world. Years…
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Quarantine Queries 6: Why does fruit rot on the tree?
We drove to New Mexico for some fresh air, family time, and a change of quarantine scenery. I wanted to do some writing this week but have been in a bit of a dry spell. As I wandered about, observing my new surroundings, I found a peach tree. I noticed some rotting fruit still on…
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Antiracism Resources
If you are new to the conversation about systemic racism and how to become antiracist, welcome! I’m so glad you’re here. When we are new, we may have a tendency to do a lot of talking, but we really need to spend some time un-educating and re-educating ourselves before we (white folks) assert ourselves into…
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Experiencing God’s Grace at AUMC
The following is a transcript from a brief sharing I was invited to give at our church, Arapaho United Methodist Church, and can be found on the church’s live stream from 6/29/20. I was answering the question, “How have you experienced God’s grace at Arapaho?” The transcript may have slight differences from the talk but…
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parenting yourself: Mental Health Awareness Month
Pre-quarantine, back in the days of yore, my husband and I went to a dinner party. I had been battling on-going physical and mental health issues and learning how to deal with panic attacks. We had jumped through some hoops to find childcare so that we could spend an evening with adults, but Anxiety didn’t…
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Mothered by God: reflections for Mother's Day
In the beginning, God hovered over the Earth like a mother bird preparing her nest. A baby grows within a mother’s body and then emerges with the mother’s DNA, like the mystery of Jesus’ “I in you and you in Me.” When new life arrives, mothers nourish and nurture. They remain deeply in tune with and…
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in honor of the babies we never got to hold
Content Warning: Pregnancy Loss “Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month was first declared by President Ronald Reagan on October 25, 1988. On that day he said: ‘When a child loses his parent, they are called an orphan. When a spouse loses her or his partner, they are called a widow or widower. When parents lose…
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what I didn't tell you at church on Sunday
“You’re taking up too much space.” The thought bubbles up from somewhere deep within me and yet also right below the surface, as though it were tired of being shoved aside. Today it has decided to crowd out everything else, growing bigger and louder like a toddler’s temper tantrum, demanding my energy and undivided attention.…
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the spiritual practice of lament
O Lord, how long? How long will injustice plague our nation, Taking the lives of the oppressed And poisoning the hearts of the oppressors? How long will we believe that some lives matter more than others, That grief for the lives of the marginalized is commonplace and unimportant, A tool to be wielded in the…
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inhabiting His delight
Every once in a while, you find someone whose mere presence makes you a better person. One such person in my life is a missionary friend and mentor I get to see a couple times a year. Though she is the first one to confess her imperfections, I always have the sense that she is…
Lindsay L. O'Connor
Spiritual Director | Enneagram Professional