I have come to see the rituals I have in my life as doors. They can be opened and invite me to pass through and, in turn, be closed and left to mark the passing of the former as I move into the future.

By avoiding or denying our need to repent, we continue ways leading to sadness and despair, no matter how we might tell ourselves otherwise. To repent is to turn things around, to let your life find balance, to welcome grace into your life.

We do not make the stories; the stories make us. We are products of stories of longing, finding, losing, and things made whole that have no reason to be.

However chaotic the current global situation becomes, make a habit of encountering the sacred every day. View life through spiritual lenses and allow that to transform how you see things.

As people of God, we must continually ask ourselves, “How am I doing welcoming the stranger? What steps can I take as an individual, community member, church member, and person of God to help those who are desiring a better life, running from the ‘Herods’ of many forms?”