Helping Hands

One of the benefits of being a kid in a multiple-child family is that you learn to take abuse. Not that that’s good—but it is helpful. We all need to develop some coping skills for deflecting and shedding put-downs, while still preserving our self-confidence. But sometimes nasty arrows get past Read more…

I used to visit a sweet little old man named Alex. He was a dear guy, but pretty self-centered, with a perpetually gloomy outlook. At some point in every conversation he would say, “Ah, I’m no good no more.” He saw no purpose in his continuing existence. He had defined Read more…

“Keep Hope Alive” was Jesse Jackson’s campaign slogan when he ran for president in 1988. And yet those words are more than just throwaway political placards and yard signs. Social change is impossible in communities that have given up. America’s inner cities need to keep believing in America’s central promise Read more…

Do you wish that your body didn’t have pain sensors? Do nerve endings seem like your enemies? Are you afraid of intimacy because you’ve been burned more than once? Have you stopped trying in life because you’ve failed so often? Are you afraid to pray because you feel too guilty? Read more…