Birds do not deceive: They hungrily fly from limbs to feeders and back until, God- knows-why, they glide sunward and bank past trees to some interesting morsel or perch out of sight. Birds sing. Even hidden, they hide nothing except, perhaps, their death. No agendas....
Where a Lonely God Alights J. Marshall Jenkins Why was no one there when I came? Why did no one answer when I called? Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver? (Isaiah 50:2a) Those who grasp for things smirk and ask, “Where is God?”...
Invisible People J. Marshall Jenkins As I age, I see invisible people whom I once walked past in my youthful hurry. Some literally shrink, with brittle bones bowing, slow gaits, dim eyes, ears catching only echoes. They wear a practiced smile. My late mother retreated...
Hazelnut and Popcorn J. Marshall Jenkins Because God loves it, a hazelnut holds the whole world, said Mother Julian. So hold the world in the palm of your hand. They say great things fill the world: governments, military operations, corporations, stock markets,...
Belief in the Far Reaches for Wanda J. Marshall Jenkins In midsummer 1969, my parents let me stay up late to watch the Apollo 11 moon landing and that “one small step,” that “one giant leap.” The subject came up soon enough weeks later among us fifth graders...
Interview With a Sycamore J. Marshall Jenkins If the young sycamore, so open-armed in my yard, could answer, I would ask, “Do you yearn to reach higher, wider, spring greener with more leaves? In the fall, will you strive for color? In winter, will you strain strong...
Shell Work J. Marshall Jenkins From dark clouds built high on the horizon and breakers marching just below it at low tide, shells inevitably call your gaze down and near between crab holes and a jellyfish beached amid foam. The moon allows brief visits here....
Because He Meets Us In Trials J. Marshall Jenkins This restlessness to rest in God: Many set out with Wordsworth and take it to woods and fields green hazed yellow with daisies, birds a choir in flight. God is there, no doubt. However, such wandering retreats only...
After Disillusionment J. Marshall Jenkins Hagar said, “Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him?” (Genesis 16:13b). Life mercifully disillusions you in increments: Mother forgets to hug or hear. Playmates shame or exclude just to see you cry. Grades...
After Illness J. Marshall Jenkins Recovered, more or less, still a bit tired, remembering the illness, the drain, dis-ease, grayness darkening, hope dimming, restless rest, wondering now how it came, how to fend it off better next time. Meanwhile, it takes perhaps a...
What Is the World? J. Marshall Jenkins He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him (John 1:10). What is the world? “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” my writer’s conscience protests, “Do not write about that abstraction. Turn...
Stubborn Grace J. Marshall Jenkins In my hurry, I plead with her, but stubborn grace will not quicken her pace. In my rush, I overshoot. In my grasp, I overreach. I arrive ahead of time at a house where someone I thought I was can call home, but not me. I gather and...