The Boat In the Backyard
Sometimes the most ordinary things become vessels for God’s deepest lessons. For Michael Spencer, a small aluminum fishing boat sitting in his family’s backyard became a lasting symbol of his father’s love, his own childhood resentment, and dreams that were never fulfilled. As a boy, Spencer couldn’t understand why his father was so different from other fathers. Only years later, through the eyes of faith and maturity, would he begin to see the depression, fear, and brokenness that had shaped his father’s life, and the love that had been present even when his father could not express it.
“The Boat in the Backyard” is ultimately more than a story about depression or a complicated father-son relationship. It is a story about living in a broken world and discovering that God’s grace meets us in the places where life has left wounds . . .
A Life of Aching Beauty
Vincent van Gogh is one of history’s most celebrated painters, yet during his lifetime he was almost universally regarded as a failure. He struggled to find a vocation, was repeatedly rejected in love, depended on his brother Theo for financial support, battled profound emotional instability, and sold only one painting before his death. And yet, from the wreckage of that life emerged some of the most enduring images of beauty ever created.
This is therefore not simply a story about a troubled genius. It is a story about failure, faith, suffering, beauty, and redemption, and about what a person can leave behind when life does not turn out as hoped . . .
A Much Needed Perspective
As the world continues to wrestle with division, war, uncertainty, and unrest, moments that unite us seem to be increasingly rare. Yet in this past week far above earth, the Artemis II mission quietly offered humanity a transforming perspective. In circling the moon, these four astronauts weren’t just pushing the boundaries of space exploration; they reminded us of a deeper truth about our shared home. The distant images they’ve recorded of our planet earth invite us to rediscover our awe of God’s creation, our sense of wonder, and a desire for peace, unity, and shared hope that transcends everything dividing us below. This leads us to ask the question, “Will there ever be peace on earth?” . . .