Have you ever had a stretch of time when opportunities arose to test what you're made of spiritually? For me, this particular stretch has lasted over three years. Besides daily annoyances, the death of a parent, and career challenges, … Read more

Recently, visiting a cherished friend in the north, I was talked into going for a paddle in their frontiersman canoe. A solid thing, a comfortable thing, I finesse my way into the forward seat and manage to shove us off the pebbly beach. … Read more

A few years ago, I was having one of those days when I was feeling very sorry for myself. Working full-time as an elementary teacher was taking a lot out of me. After a long day, I'd start my second … Read more

My family lives about two hours from our city, and I take the back roads through small towns when I go to visit them. The scenery is beautiful, and this route keeps me off the six-lane freeways. One night, however, … Read more

In late fall of the year when I was in second grade, I found out something that changed me. One of the girls on my street told me that Santa wasn't real. I ran right to my dad, and he … Read more

On a wide curve on the Charleston Side Road between Airport Road and the village of Caledon, north of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, stands a lone elm tree. About ten years ago, driving by about dusk, my husband had fallen asleep … Read more

I was having a "down day". As I walked to my dad's house in the rain that Monday, I felt forlorn. Life, of late, had not been particularly kind. My mom had passed away several months earlier, and I was … Read more

Several years ago, my boss at the time told me about a friend of hers who was on his first trip to England, excited to find himself in front of the oldest occupied castle in the world, Windsor Castle. As … Read more