Articles

CHANGE IS GOOD . And coming to the United States from Kenya was a big change for me.

AS A WORKING MOTHER OF FOUR CHILDREN under the age of ten, I've found that daily life can sometimes feel like a constant juggling act. My husband and I have both thought deeply about finding harmony in our work and our family obligations.

IN 1988, WHEN I FIRST SAW CIVIL WAR in my country of origin, Burundi, it was very horrible. I saw so many shameful and painful deaths.

AS THE CHILD of Jewish holocaust survivors growing up in post-World War II Europe, in what was a predominantly Christian society, I lived in an environment of what you might call "perceived hatred. " Over the years, I did hear anti-Semitic comments made in my presence, as well as hearing of anti-Semitism in the news.

There's a word missing from the Mangelsdorf family dictionary. A word that, more often than not, invades sentences as a verb.

IT'S THE INTERNET, PERHAPS . Or maybe it's the concept of "global village" that's helped us embrace the world more closely.

THE THOUGHT THAT AWAKENED ME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT was a shocking one: "Your mother is dead!" The strength of the idea frightened me; her death seemed very real, so real that I cried and had a nearly uncontrollable feeling of despair. At the time, I was working in eastern Turkey as an assistant photojournalist.

AS A LITTLE GIRL , I loved lying on the dock at our summer cabin and looking up at the stars in the dark night sky. I felt very small, but not insignificant.

AS EASTER COMES AND GOES EACH YEAR , thoughts about the resurrection always stay with me. Now, as in at least the first few centuries after Jesus' triumph over death, people hold verying views of it.

Around the globe, predictions of a possible bird flu pandemic have made people increasingly fearful of birds. But divine Love has given us the antidote for all fear in this simple text from First John: "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear.