He looks different but he laughs, eats and plays just like any other kid. You see, my son is deformed from a tumor wrapped behind the left eye and bone abnormalities in his skull. Imagine a kite unable to fly because it's weighed down.
Traditionally, in the Christian tradition, Lenten observance has included a variety of practices including prayer, fasting and abstinence, penance and almsgiving. The goals of these practices are to experience spiritual awakening, purification and renewal.
If I wanted to make a resolution (and I do, but they don't usually keep the whole year), I would say: "discipline in prayer." So much of my spiritual life is, like the rest of my life, filled with chaos and unpredictability.
Is it possible to transcend one’s personal beliefs and opinions, and to what end?
In a series of posts, based on a paper I presented recently at the Pacific Northwest regional meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature (May 11, Concordia University Portland), titled “Ways of Believing,” I will address this question.