I'm headed up the hill, going home. It is Mother's Day, and a sad-faced man is coming towards me with some flowers. "For your mother?" I say, smiling at the bouquet. He doesn't smile back, but he stops, as though he needs to tell …( read more )

My father was a horticulturist, at least when it came to his fig tree; it was the focal point in the centre of our backyard. Dad would always be watching to see signs of life when the first green leaf would appear. He would spring into …( read more )

My son is a power station boilermaker, a maintenance engineer. He is "a maintenance man" in every sense of the phrase. In every aspect of his life, he is a very practical and regular "Mr. Fix-It". He saves many people, … (read more)

"A giant. I want a story about a giant. The tallest giant in the world, please." These were the requests of a small boy when I offered to read a bedtime story. "Okay. I'll try," I said, and I told … (read more)

We have a fireplace in our new home that has no chimney. It was put there as a focal point for the room. Other than that, it serves no good purpose. I love a good fire. I find the heat … (read more)

One recent morning, I cleaned the cooker. It had been looking reproachfully at me for some time. You know, likely, how it is: despite the best intentions, muck becomes stuck to the surface. Life passes by, and, slowly at first, … (read more)

I got a chance to go "home" before Christmas, but I didn't want to go. Home, in this case, is not where I live now, but the place where I was born and grew up. That's Windsor, Ontario, right across … (read more)

Yesterday, we began talking about our image of God. We're all used to thinking of God as "Our Father, who art in heaven". We may not be quite so familiar with the images of God being like a mother, as … (read more)