In which I'm amazed by the goodness of God | Anita Mathias: Dreaming Beneath the Spires

Gratitude: A Secret to Happiness

Anita Mathias — Sun, 07 Jan 2018 13:57:03 +0000

Georgia O’Keefe All of us have a negativity bias which makes us more apt to remember one mean comment about our writing, our children, our appearance, or our characters, than dozens of positive ones. It’s true, isn’t it? More disquietingly, I’ve read, in Andrew Solomon’s brilliant The Noonday Demon that the myelin sheath around […]

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In which God Creates Beauty from My Mistakes

Anita Mathias — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 18:54:14 +0000

In this season of hibernation, I think… and my remembrance of things past is not unaccompanied by regret. Mists of sadness rise. I will not enter them for they might drag me into a quagmire. No, I will not re-read past chapters. Today’s chapter is being written—Jesus dictating, me writing. Or sometimes, me writing fast, impulsively, […]

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In which our Sehnsucht, Restless Longings, are Really a Longing for God Himself

Anita Mathias — Mon, 03 Feb 2014 21:58:48 +0000

Image: My Photograph of St. Paul’s Bay in Malta So we are looking forward to our half-term holiday—to sleeping in, no stress, family movies…and especially to getting away. * * * The funny thing is, we had all that—sleeping in, staying up late, family movies, luscious meals, creaking family dinner tables, and travel– last summer (when […]

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Where Good Stories are to be Found

Anita Mathias — Sat, 16 Nov 2013 22:21:09 +0000

Image Credit My tender-hearted children hated sad stories. Neither would let me read Oscar Wilde’s exquisite short stories to them, or even Hans Christian Andersen’s because they were too sad. When I recommended a book or movie, they wanted to know if it was sad, and especially if it had a sad ending. But […]

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Christ says, “I will let nothing be wasted.”

Anita Mathias — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 19:37:52 +0000

“Let nothing be wasted” “Nothing, Lord?” “Nothing.” * * * Not the weary years, Not the silent tears, None of the loneliness Which caused that deep, echoing silence in which we could hear you? None of our failures Which silenced the insistent voices Of those who might otherwise have found a use for us. […]

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Nothing and No One is Beyond Redemption

Anita Mathias — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:23:09 +0000

Matthew 1: 1-17 I begin reading Matthew again, and again notice that though the Messiah could have chosen to come from nice, safe, unremarkable, pious humans, he instead chosen as his ancestors those who have messed up and blown it—and had their transgressions recorded in the holiest of books! Amazing: the Redeemer, the most […]

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My Train Wreck into Grace

Anita Mathias — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 10:19:06 +0000

Sometimes, when my tongue runs away with me, and I use my words to express anger rather than bestow grace, and those words steal life and strength and peace rather than lavish them, I see the red flag of Jesus, and am stopped dead in my tracks. But sometimes, I don’t stop, and don’t listen […]

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The Worst Evangelism Question Ever, or, When we See Him Face to Face

Anita Mathias — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 19:48:25 +0000

Pompeo Batoni: The Prodigal Son The worst evangelism question ever in my opinion is: “If God were to ask you, “Why should I let you into my Heaven?” what would you say?” The lovely pastor of our first little church in Williamsburg, Virginia, was all gung-ho about Evangelism Explosion. When we were new, he visited […]

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All is Grace. All is Gift. All is Good, despite our Sehnsucht, indefinable longings!

Anita Mathias — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 20:29:16 +0000

Caption: The Bay Where St Paul was Shipwrecked, Malta So it’s the last day of this half-term, and I am tired. And my girls who’ve worked hard, and Roy, who’s woken early to drive them to school, are even more tired. We are looking forward to the nine days of the half-term holiday—to sleeping in, […]

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God Comes to Those Who Dare to be Different: Do Not Be Afraid

Anita Mathias — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 19:08:43 +0000

And when God chose to become flesh and dwell among us, the angel wisely prefaces his glorious announcement, “You have found favour with God,” with “Do not be afraid.” You, a “virgin,” will bear a child. Do not be afraid. Oh, the looming scandal, what would people say? How many would have rejected this “blessing,” but […]

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