Mountains and Valleys
Laying on a cot on a Sunday morning at the church’s periodic blood drive, I looked up and found that I was resting between two large paintings. One depicts a sunny garden wedding celebration and the other a gray deathbed scene. As I looked at the two paintings, the portable stereo brought by the technicians from the blood bank was playing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” Continue reading “Lenten Reflections”
False Spring
Looking out the window one morning I saw brilliant blue, yellow and white pansies, fresh purple clusters of new hyacinths, bright green shoots of daffodils and tulips. The sight was made all the more beautiful as the bright colors were accentuated against the backdrop of a thick sheet of clean white sleet.
The spring bloomers were drawn up out of the dark black soil and into the light by a wave of warm weather. The bright sunshine and shirtsleeve temperatures – and all the promise and potential they herald – were too much to resist. But it was a false spring, and the tender shoots and petals would need to stand still and strong against the cold. They would have to wait for winter to finish its run before they could claim their springtime glory.
We, too, must wait.
Focus on the Fundamentals
A few years ago while visiting the Baylor University journalism department where I earned my degree, I learned that while their new name – Journalism, Public Relations and New Media – is a nod to all the new forms of communication that exist, the focus is still on the fundamentals of strong reporting and writing. For that reason, The Baylor Lariat – the daily newspaper that I worked on 30 years ago – is still the centerpiece of the program. That’s remarkable given that the paper’s primary readership has grown up with texts and tweets. Continue reading “Lenten Reflections”
