You see the flood, Father. Why are you silent? I am overwhelmed by the anger and hate and pain.
Hope for Waiting: Reflections on Psalm 33
Written on the Doorposts
On a whim, I wrote a short phrase on my arm to meditate on during the day. It smeared as I went about my tasks, but the comfort of seeing it there was enough to try repeating.
Reflections on Psalm 102
I'm going through another one of those ugly, dark periods of my struggle with mental illness. Periods that seem more and more common. It's exhausting. I end so many days wondering why I keep trying. But this morning the LORD refreshed my spirit while reading Psalm 102. You can read the whole thing here, but... Continue Reading →
Hope in I AM: Reflections on Exodus 3:14-15
Israel spent 430 years in Egypt. Once a refuge, it had become a prison. Their struggle was relentless, their pain exponential. …and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his... Continue Reading →
Seventy Times Seven: How Abuse Changes Forgiveness
“In white culture, forgiveness is synonymous with letting go. In my culture, I believe we carry pain until we can reconcile with it through ceremony. Pain is not framed like a problem with a solution. I don’t even know that white people see transcendence the way we do. I’m not sure that their dichotomies apply... Continue Reading →
Our Father…Why?
I used to question the way David approached God in the Psalms. He sounds almost accusatory. How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? Psalm 13:1 Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity and I have trusted in the LORD without... Continue Reading →
A Pastor’s Wife, A Millstone, and A Cup of Tea
But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in... Continue Reading →
R. C. Svendsen 