The Prayer

In this moment I am not afraid.
I have worshiped the God of fear.
I have laid my life on his alter.

He is a false God.

I rescind my offering.
I will no longer participate in my own destruction,
I invite the wrath
to rain upon me
in all its trembling horror
Let the glory of evil burn bright

Pink Umbrellas

In my efforts to become a more balanced and thereby a more peaceful person, I am forever weighing my first reactions to people and situations against principles, such as withholding judgment without adequate information, treating people the way I would like to be treated, and checking personal prejudices at the door.

Some days, it’s a whole lot easier said than done. Today I let some things get under my skin. I feel compelled to rant just a bit.

Are you up for it?

I hate when people mess with little kids. Nothing is worse than being a bully. And to me, bullying around little kids takes a special kind of creep.

Seekers of Peace

Leave my people alone.

I want to scream these words loud enough to be heard. When I read of the recent attention paid to members of the Church who are suspected and found guilty of the sin of doubting, I wanted to climb to the highest peak and plead… Let my people be.

My people seek to find peace, seek a way to reconcile doubts and questions with the lives they lead in the Church.

Learning of various members being summoned to meetings with leadership gave me that knee-jerk, doubled-over pain in my stomach. If they are come after one, they are capable of coming after everyone.

I could be wrong. I really hope that I am wrong. I want to be wrong.

But, I am worried.

An Unexpected Peace

I had a business meeting with a member from my ward today. The conversation turned into something quite unexpected.

I sat listening intently as she recalled the night 30 years ago she received the news her son had been killed in an auto accident. She recalled how in the weeks previous to his death he seemed to “know without knowing” that he would be leaving soon. In the days previous to the accident he had made contact with all of his family members telling them that he loved them. He had purchased life insurance a year earlier, and offered words of advice to his mother that would set her life on a new course, all without knowing that a semi would soon be crossing a center divider, hitting him head on. He would be dead at age 24.