THE BOOK
For most of my life, I collected stories of my learning, my interactions with others, and my observations within the scope of academia and chaplaincy. What moved me was a desire to engage lessons found in scripture into everyday life, to see the silent work of the Holy Spirit in my life as well as in the lives of others. It’s a reflective journey, one worth engaging in and searching for in many random moments, I have found the divine engages us, builds bridges, and unites even strangers for a few moments. It may be that we only experience brief encounters. However, they shape significant meanings in our lives and yield experiences we yearn to share.
I have a confession: I selected these specific stories from my collection during a season of loss in my life. For years I have journaled, and the entries have always yielded material for publishing and sharing in speaking engagements and conferences. Yet these are the stories my mother enjoyed the most. She set them apart and participated in their revisions as they became speaking notes. In looking back and remembering the conversations we shared, these stories have yielded some fundamental constructs that unify them. I work under the premise that we are not irrelevant to God. We should search for the obvious work of the Spirit in our lives and in that of others. To see the obvious presence and activity of the Spirit in our interactions with each other requires from us a willingness to pause and listen. To stand still. That is a true challenge in a world that moves at a fast pace and where technology tends to deprive us of a meaningful direct and personal connection with others. Yet the promise of the Risen Savior remains: “Seek and you shall find” (Matthew 7:7 New King James Version, NKJV). These stories are a testimony that human beings are not abandoned by God; they provide evidence of the presence of God in human life. God is active in our individual lives through the Holy Spirit. Shared stories engage our Christian walk, which tells of our experiences, provide guidance in our journey, educate, support, and inspire.
