Category: Devotional

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Devotional

Momentary art

On beach vacations in my childhood, I made little sand bowls. Piled up a mountain of sand, scooped out the top, then slowly poured a cup of water in.

It baked in the tropical heat. And I baked in the tropical heat. Then, brushing away the loose sand, I lifted out a fragile oddly-shaped sand bowl.

The momentary art of a child at play.

The surf moved in and out. I sat in the vast ocean holding my little creation.  A large wave drenched me. The bowl dissolved. Wet sand ran through my fingers in the waves. Delightful.

Then I made another one.

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Devotional

Integrity matters

This spring we looked for a car. A reliable used car. It’s been years since our last search. The integrity of the car—and the car salesman—matters. It did then. It does today.

But car-shopping has changed. Now you can shop online and find a fairly detailed history of the vehicle you’re interested in. The number of owners. Where it’s been registered. If it’s been in any accidents or had any recalls.

Are there any dents, scratches, or chipped paint? There’s a “360-degree” visual of the exterior and the interior. Most of the research is accomplished before you ever set eyes on the car or take it out for a drive. 

Back in the day, someone could hide a vehicle’s history. Make it look good. Hit all the sales points with conviction. We searched for a trustworthy used car salesman. Wondered if the car was truly as good on the inside as it looked on the outside.

Integrity matters.

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Devotional

Secret place

Hidden behind clothes and toys, I giggled when I heard my mother calling and calling my name. I was around 4 years old. And I’d discovered a secret place in the depths of our walk-in closet. She called my name again. And again.

This was so much fun. 

No one knew where I was. 

As you can imagine, the end of that story was not funny at all. My mother was in tears and panicking. She thought I had wandered outside the gate of our home in Surabaya and been lost forever. This was a surprise to me. And the discipline that followed was, shall we say, memorable. The next time I listened when my parents called. 

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