Stop Doubting and Believe

Kelly Bixby
Stop Doubting and Believe
COVID-19 positive, Dad’s been lying in a hospital bed for nearly three weeks and fighting for his life. I’m not allowed to see him. Visitors aren’t allowed whatsoever into the hospital, even if their loved one is dying. I won’t accept that Dad falls into that category, but I hear his suffering in moments when a nurse props a phone... Read More

Faithfulness in Prayer

Kelly Bixby
Faithfulness in Prayer
One of my prized possessions is a children’s prayer book that used to belong to my mother. The cover has a picture of a beautiful girl with long blonde hair. She’s wearing what I’ve always thought is her nightgown, but which may actually be a choir robe. The girl’s hands are folded before her in the manner proper for Catholic... Read More

Seeing the Spirit of God

Kelly Bixby
Seeing the Spirit of God
At home in mid-January 2018, I was surprised to receive a thank you note mistakenly addressed to Pastor Janet Richardson. It was clear to me that whoever sent the postcard wasn’t familiar with Janet. They would have known her by her marital surname—Noble-Richardson—and that she had died in 2006. But the faux pas were easy to make. Working through our... Read More

Fanfare and Pageantry

Kelly Bixby
Fanfare and Pageantry
Because the dad was smiling, I was pretty sure I hadn’t offended him too much. He asked, “Did you just say, ‘Every parent should force their child to be in the Christmas pageant’?” Absolutely I did. His high-school sophomore son had told me a week earlier that he was willing to participate, and ever since, I had been counting on... Read More