Paradox

Diamond wedding ring surrounded by more diamonds

August 12, 2017March 26, 2018 | Melinda Johnson

“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

That statement is backwards, isn’t it? Don’t we treasure things that are near to our hearts? It’s harder to believe a treasure could be something we have to journey towards. We keep our treasures close, don’t we? It’s paradoxical to imagine moving our hearts toward something and deciding to treasure it.

Yet, how many times does Jesus ask us to do something paradoxical? How many Bible verses can you remember that are like this one – sounding “backwards” at first until you grasp the loving truth they contain? Jesus Himself is a paradox. He conquered death by dying. He led by serving. He spoke to illiterate people in a tiny conquered nation thousands of years ago, and His words are heard today in every corner of the earth.

Continue reading →

One Word, One Line

July 17, 2017March 26, 2018 | Melinda Johnson

I wondered if I could write a poem using only one word per line. I tried it.

Petals

Continue reading →

Expected Hazards

Wooden hangers on a rack at a clothing store

March 30, 2017March 24, 2018 | Melinda Johnson

Clothes shopping is a hazardous business.

[Muttering to self]: “Sneakers. Sneakers. Where are the sneakers? There are some – OH! Shiny silver! Designer! Italian! These are shoes to go with dresses I cannot remotely afford. They should be worn at sunset, in Rome. At that fountain where people make wishes in the Audrey Hepburn movie…was it Audrey? What did I come in here for? Why did I not bring someone with me who remembers what I came in here for?”
Continue reading →

The Suitcase, from Jane G. Meyer

March 17, 2017April 20, 2018 | Melinda Johnson

The Suitcase is an original. It’s a child’s-eye view of the human spiritual journey, reduced to the most practical, tangible terms and yet still transcendent and full of light. It’s understated, luminously illustrated, and full of significant detail.
Continue reading →

Beware the Fire Hose

January 30, 2017March 25, 2018 | Melinda Johnson

In the age of outrage, it’s important to know the difference between a marathon and a sprint. This is especially true if you hope to be heard by your fellow human beings, and if you hope to galvanize them to action. Whoever you are, and whatever your cause, you must never forget that for all practical purposes, you are speaking directly into the blasting stream of a fire hose. Always. If you fail to accommodate this reality, the best you have to offer will end as nothing more than a wet spot on the pavement. Continue reading →

For Carrie and Debbie

December 29, 2016March 30, 2018 | Melinda Johnson

In honor of Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, I have something to say.

Death is part of the story. It’s not the end of the story. Sometimes, it’s not even the worst part.

Carrie died the way we all want to die, if we know what’s good for us. Death came to her mid-stride, on her way from one plan to another. She never outlived her ability to do what she loved. Continue reading →

Already Lost

August 26, 2016March 30, 2018 | Melinda Johnson

I’m thinking about loss tonight.

I’ve noticed something unexpected that happens when I think about grief, or losing a loved one. In the last few months, my next thought after a sad thought is, “But think of what you’ve already lost.”

Think of all the time that is already gone, all the memories that are already memories, all the little daily truths that were a comfort or a joy and are gone now, left behind with passing time, or brokenness, or growth. Think of what you’ve already lost. Why is this idea what comes to help me? Continue reading →

The Eternal Life of Objects

Book of Tennyson poems on old wooden dresser

July 18, 2016April 5, 2018 | Melinda Johnson

The connection between material objects and time fascinates me. Things can transcend time. They are more eternal than people, in one sense. For example, I recently found on our shelves a 1942 edition of the “Song and Service Book for Ship and Field: Army and Navy.” It’s still here, thousands of miles from the city where it was published, transcending who knows what dangers, surrounded perhaps by death on every side. Human death. And yet, it’s still here.

Continue reading →