2 Cor. 12: 9-10 Buffeted by ocean tumult Crucified on timeless beach Buried by storm and sand Risen whole Exposed by tide Bleached by sun Carried home as talisman Lesson in adversity Delicate as baby’s breath Brittle as old woman’s bone Weightless as Christ’s presence Powerful as confessed weakness Flawless flower etched on orb Hollow [...]

More magazine, which I enjoy for its insightful articles, has a monthly column: one month it is entitled “This is What 40 Looks Like,” the next, “This is What 50 Looks Like.” It always includes a picture of a beautiful woman and a bio extolling all of the wonderful things her life includes, changing stereotypes [...]

I’m sitting on the porch of a cabin in Roan Mountain, Tennessee. A gentle spring rain soaks the garden, and a small waterfall caused by a plugged-up gutter falls in front of my Adirondack chair. My porch-side perch overlooks a roaring, rock-filled creek. Across the creek a hill ascends at a nearly vertical pitch, rhododendron [...]