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by Sarah Van Diest @SarahVanDiest �With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints� Ephesians 6:18.               �I feel a great disturbance in the Force.�  Ha! I know I�m quoting fiction,  Star Wars  to be exact, but it makes me think. There are days, in fact specific moments within days, where out of the blue a deep sense of sorrow fills my soul. It is as if, like in  Star Wars , a great catastrophe hit and my heart felt the blow. Have you ever felt that?  From my egocentric, Western perspective on life and the universe, I assume this sensation has to do with me, myself alone. I assume there is something happening in my personal world that needs my personal attention. Maybe I have an undiscovered trauma from a forgotten past that was triggered by a conversation or a smell. Maybe I�m being p...

by Sarah Van Diest @SarahVanDiest �But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ� 2 Corinthians 11:3.  �You are alone.� �You are not enough.� �There is no place for you in this world.�  These are difficult words, yes? They represent exclusion, rejection, and pain. Some of us have heard these words, or some similar, spoken directly to us from those we believed cared about us. Others have heard these words in their own minds and hearts, coming from a place deeply buried and hidden.  These are words of shame.  As we know from the tale in the Garden, it was shame that caused our ancient ancestors to hide. That is what shame does, or rather, that is a typical response to feeling ashamed. The other well-known response is to fight back and retaliate. Anger rises up and we throw punches at our accuser, or at the wall, or at the cat. Poor kitty. If we think of the Garden ...

by Sarah Van Diest @SarahVanDiest Do you know that what you do matters?  Do you understand that the way our Father speaks through you is unique? That there is no one else who can carry his message and his love like you can?  I want you to hold that idea in your mind as you read today�s story. What you do makes a difference.  I wish I didn�t have this story to tell you today, but I do. It sits in my hands and waits to be opened and shared. I feel a strange sense of honor holding it, while its tragic nature makes me wish it never existed. But it is also something precious and something worthy of words.  Four months ago, baby Kaenon was born. He came early. As soon as the news broke that he was on the way, his grandparents rushed to meet him. Mark and Laurie Francis arrived at daughter Ashlee�s side and welcomed their first grandchild into the world.  His early arrival meant complications, though. Kaenon�s body wasn�t quite ready for the wideness of the world. He w...

by Sarah Van Diest @SarahVanDiest When the unexpected becomes the serendipitous we rejoice. We are glad and our hearts are grateful. When our spirits are fragile, the smallest of blessings can overrun us with their beauty and our sense of sentimentality boldly presents itself. Tears of gratitude are evidence of its effect on us.  And we are undone.   This is the beautiful thing that happens when Life touches us. The cords of death are discarded and forgotten in the midst of this passionate display of vibrance and vitality. Life in the face of death is equal to light in the darkness, hope in utter despair.  Three years ago I clipped a blue hydrangea from my friend�s giant plant to take home and enjoy whilst it bloomed. It rooted while in the vase, so I planted it in soil, and now I have my own hydrangea plant with its own blooms. This was unexpected, and serendipitously so.  The roots grew from a stem that looked fully dead. The flower itself had dried and all its lea...