Joan’s Blog
Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?
On the day our sons chose a rabbi over him, my husband was furious. I remember well how he stormed in, his expression darker than a sea squall, to
Why are you so afraid?
I watch the sun dropping down to the hills and the shadows lengthening. Clouds on the horizon catch the orange and red tones of the setting sun. A small
Where are the other nine?
It was Shimri who told me about a Jewish rabbi rumoured to have healed a leper. Of course I wanted to believe it to be true. Any leper would.
Do you want to get well?
I lean against the pillar and stare gloomily out over the waters of Bethesda. Even in the shade of the portico, the midday heat accosts me. The press of
A Season of Blessing: For the Anxious
Anxiety has been gnawing at me lately. It particularly loves the 4 a.m. time slot. Then, like vultures circling above a kill, the anxious thoughts loop around and around
A Season of Blessing: For the Day
I’ll be honest with you … I’ve feeling a little fragile today. My family is in flux. Everything feels fragile—jobs and studies and my children’s future. Over the last
A Season of Blessing: For the Lonely
‘All the lonely people; Where do they all come from? All the lonely people; Where do they all belong?’ These lyrics are from the 1966 Beatles song Eleanor Rigby,
A Season of Blessing: For the Young
This week, as we observed Youth Day in South Africa, I asked myself the question: what kind of world will we bequeath to our children? The world we leave
A Season of Blessing: For Those who Grieve
How are we to respond to the loss, sorrow and grief that swirls around us right now? I’ll be honest, I have often tried to shut out grief. When
A Season of Blessing: Rekindling a Lost Art
Bless you, we say as someone sneezes. God bless, we hurriedly scrawl on a birthday card. Blessings, we sometimes breezily sign off an email to a friend. In my
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