Holly Dickson-Ramos's Blog

Here are two gems from Dear God by Bunmi Laditan. You weave my destiny together, and I sit here pulling threads, criticizing colours, weeping over last year’s patches, fretting over tomorrow’s patterns, screaming as we sit too close to the fire. God, please push your loom back, lest I go up in flames, my quilt... Continue Reading →

Storms give trees deeper roots. I was one of many teens introduced to this quote years ago. Our employer knew that the first-days-of-summer enthusiasm we all felt in June would wear off. We’d grow tired. Disillusioned. Bored. Restless. Life would throw unexpected (unwanted) circumstances our way and we would suffer. So they told us, right... Continue Reading →

Have you ever participated in a worship service where visiting missionaries teach the congregation a song in another language, and as voices lift to form foreign sounding words, your soul soars in spite of the language barrier? I’m still making my way through Christine Eberle’s excellent devotional Finding God In Ordinary Time, and this morning... Continue Reading →

First, some silly stuff, and then a spiritual reflection… They say crows are smart. I didn’t realize they’re also fussy eaters. Each morning I add water to our bird bath, and lately it’s clogged with peanuts.  A crow keeps dropping nuts into the water and coming back, once the nuts are softened, to eat them.... Continue Reading →

We all have questions. Why is God so silent? Why did He allow this? On a day when many miss their mothers, lament a relationship with their moms that was less than ideal, or wonder why they weren’t given the chance to love and raise children of their own, here are some songs to touch... Continue Reading →

Restless: Unable to rest or relax as a result of anxiety or boredom. Anxious: Feeling worry, unease or nervousness. I’m restless, you’re restless, and I’ll bet most people we know feel anxious. Often. Some say this is due to the pandemic – it left us with lingering uncertainty about life. Others say staring at screens... Continue Reading →

Do you know someone wrestling with anxious thoughts or depression? Is anyone in your family living with a diagnosis of chronic or terminal illness? Living well long term, when things are tough, means building into life sources of joy, comfort and hope. I routinely ask myself: What can I read to nourish my soul? Is... Continue Reading →

I am ugly and fat. Moody and selfish. Not feminine enough. Not tough like others. I disappoint me and I surely must disappoint you. Remember the song You Are My All in All – from the ’90s? I sang it many times, back in the day. Hearing it brings back memories of throwing my crutches... Continue Reading →

It’s quiet. Yesterday, in church, we read scripture about Jesus’ last moments. He was tried and treated badly. Killed. A few weeks ago a priest said, “This is what it looks like for God to be human,” and he splayed his fingers and spread his arms. A painful death, he said. And humiliating. A good... Continue Reading →

I’ve had a hard night. Today, this is my prayer. Maybe its yours too.