Uninvited guests. Guests that stay too long, are too controlling, are too expensive. That suck the energy from our being and the joy from our hearts. That plague us to the breaking point. “Guests” may be too polite a term. “Intruders,” “usurpers,” even “cannibals” are more accurate. These “guests” take many forms. Some hideous. Some beautiful. But at the core, they interrupt and oppose what we want. A blinding blizzard. Chronic pain. Loss of a spouse. A deadly pandemic. Darkness of soul. We have a choice. We can pound our fists on the unyielding brick wall of reality. Mutilate skin and sinew and fracture every bone. Or we can yield. Whisper, “I don’t understand, but I accept it.” Look up in
She spun a carefully crafted web of deception. Not to swindle us out of retirement funds or to harm us. She was probably in her late 20s, unattractive, overweight, and of limited means. But she was a faithful member of our church, attending every service and each event--except for Valentine’s Day banquets. She loved caring for the little ones in the nursery and willingly filled in any vacancies. While people were friendly, I wonder if anyone took a special interest in her. During weekly prayer meetings she began sharing prayer requests about her health. First, she wasn’t feeling well. Over time, the requests escalated. The doctor was consulted and was running tests. Next week she had the res
