The Wind Blows Freely

In the days before the prevalence of air-conditioning, we depended on fans to keep cool. I remember the small, oscillating one sitting atop the dresser in my childhood bedroom often seemed confused turning its head first this way then that—as if it couldn’t decide which way the wind blows. On those hot mid-summer evenings in […]

What We Know

A few weeks before my family vacationed at a camp ground on the shore of Lake Michigan, I picked out a new bicycle—sweet cherry red and slightly too big for me, but I would “grow into it,” my mother said. So, after setting up our tents and stacking the wood by the pit, I mounted […]

X Marks the Spot

In the front room of my second floor apartment there is a turret overlooking the busy street below. Through the curved glass, I survey a world in motion—a sea of skateboarders and runners and stroller-pushers and bicyclists. In summer, the sidewalk is a second home for many. A few weeks ago, in the early hours, […]

No Stoplight Living

As a young Christian in my early teens, I sat in the backseat of my family’s car attempting to discern God’s will through stoplights. Should I go to the school dance this weekend? If the next three stoplights were green: yes. One red light in the mix: wait and see. Two or more red lights: […]

Hard Face, Soft Heart

During my third-grade year, Cabbage Patch Kid fever swept the country. Little girls (mainly) couldn’t get enough of these dolls with their hard faces and soft bodies. Each doll came with an official birth certificate with a name as well as date and time of birth—details you could only discover when you purchased the doll […]

Idaho Knows

My mom snapped the photo of me in front of the residence hall at the Christian college where I soon would begin my freshman year. Arms awkwardly behind my back, I stand frozen, eyes wide like a deer caught in the headlights of the oncoming year rushing toward me. Time, I would later discover, swerves […]

Parsing Pleasure

A few years ago, as I strolled through my neighborhood, I spied a small business card on the sidewalk that arrested my attention. The card simply said: I was planned for God’s pleasure. I put the message in my pocket and brought it home. I placed the card next to my computer where it has […]

Spotted

A couple of years ago, my hair started to change color. I would have welcomed this new reality if the result was a George Clooney salt n’ pepper look. Alas, my body decided that a series of randomly placed circles of white hair each about 2-inches in diameter were more stylish. I begged to differ. […]

From Couch to Far Country

I first told someone about my sexuality while sitting in a dorm room at a Christian college in Middle America. The couch on which we sat had seen better days—frayed along the edges of its arms and missing its feet so we had to sink quite low, almost to the ground, to finally meet the […]

Cold Hands, Warming Heart

My body has a capillary condition which results in my having constantly cold hands. In the winter, I have a particularly difficult time keeping them warm—especially if I’m outside for any period of time. In talking with my doctor about the condition, he suggested wearing mittens instead of gloves so that the collective warmth of […]