Laurel Elisabeth Stevens

This morning on our walk I delighted in the cool, fresh air.  “Oh, it’s so lovely!” I exclaimed to the children and the birds and the dog, thinking that it will soon end.  The days will come when 8 AM is already too hot and humid for a walk. The weather put me in such a good mood that I thought we ought to have some education.  “Kids, remember that verse you are learning in Latin . . .In principio erat Verbum.  Et verbum erat apud Deum . . .” They nodded, squinting in the sun, not looking at me.  “That’s John 1:1.” I told them.  “But do you know it in English?” Immediately Elisabeth began reciting, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” We were rounding the corner and Henry looked up at me and said, “That sounds kind of boring.” What could I do but laugh?  The words that delight and confound grownups simply sound boring to kids.  Maybe he was more interested in “putting on the armor of ...

The chapel at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan is a chapel in the round.  The wooden ceiling shined golden and watched in expectation as the writers and readers and lovers of the Word poured in.  I waited expectantly too, surrounded by goodness and hope.  I saw the poet, Scott Cairns, recognizing him from a book I’d quickly browsed an hour ago.  With his downward eyes and a black binder tightly clutched I imagined that he would not appreciate all of us waiting to hear from him, as though we were interrupting what he really wanted to do--write.  A woman came in and sat beside him, greeting him with a smile and a few chatty words.  A few moments later when Mr. Cairns went up to the podium the woman jumped in surprise as she realized that she had been sitting next to such a man who could command words that delve into the heart.  Mr. Cairns stood and blessed us, calling us to worship in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  He...