On the Uncommon Perception of My Garden

My second year of seminary is over! Only one more to go. For me, one of the worst parts of finishing the school year is the change of pace. My mind is finally given space to be as anxious as it wants to be, thinking of the future, purpose, calling, and nothing to do about it now. Free from homework and anything else to do after dinner until September, I

One

At a friend's house the other night, after a delicious pork roast, the fire was lit as all sunk into couches, chatting. It wasn't long before Tad's enormous chocolate lab brought a slimy blue rubber toy right into the lap of Jonathan, who happily resigned himself from the conversation to play fetch. He threw the toy high up into the air. Up launched the lab with a full six-foot span (and a smile almost as big) as he chomped it out of the air and fell back to the hardwood floor between the Christmas tree and the fireplace. He brought it right back to Jonathan for another go. We all laughed, mesmerized with all the antics.

"I wish I could be so obsessed with one thing," Jonathan reflected out loud as the dog took another leap into the air. "He's so happy, he could do this forever." But I wonder if that lab was thinking the

The Present is King

Having a child is so different than wanting to have a child. As I write this, my first and only daughter is lying on my chest, her warm body melting into mine, her little lungs softly breathing freshly upon my skin. Only a week ago, this same daughter was driving her parents to near insanity, crying out for more food in a language we could not understand. What is wrong with us? We are capable, intelligent, perceptive people who at the seemingly imperceivable cry of an infant are operating at our wits end and no sleep.

When I imagined having a child with my wife, I imagined the stories we would tell of growth and hardship, triumph and strength. I surely didn't realize how scary it would be to have the doctor tell us