When I was in kindergarten, I was petrified of lightning and thunder. One summer day when my parents were out and my sister was babysitting me, a huge thunderstorm rolled in. After witnessing that bright flash followed by that violent crash of thunder, I ran. I zipped right out my front door; barefoot, crying, and screaming as the thunder relentlessly pounded the sky. I ended up in my neighbor's front door, pleading to stay with them until the storm passed. Fast forward to my junior year of high school: I was home alone one February night babysitting my nephew who was around 5 months at the time. I was in the middle of feeding him his dinner when I noticed an unfamiliar light glaring through my window. I peaked out the window and noticed a suspiciously idle truck halfway up my driveway. My 16 year old brain immediately flashed back to my 6 year old brain of irrational panic; without sparing another moment in that living room, I...
a place where public contemplation for the beauty of the Lord is invited