Debra Rienstra

Bruised from our traumas small and large, we wonder: did 2020 really end at that magic midnight minute when Thursday turned over to Friday?

Well, you can tell Mom and Dad that “you” will indeed be present. And “you” will have lost a great deal of weight. And they are free to hug “you” all they want. Send ‘em a full-size cardboard cutout of…

I keep saying that I’m “exploring” this idea, but at this point it’s more like I’m serving the idea. Refugia seems to have a mind of its own and has sort of taken over my thinking and writing. And podcasting!…

Panamanian golden frog I’ve recently learned that wildlife conservationists will sometimes remove desperately endangered creatures from their habitats in order to save their species. It’s called “arking”—as in: we are putting this species on an ark. The conservationists hope to…

Earth: Look, I try not to pay much attention to human politics. I have so much to do, what with plate techtonics and weather systems and sustaining various kingdoms and phyla of creatures. Plus I operate on loooooong time scales,…

What does it mean, I wonder, to encounter a burning bush, flaming but not consumed, and hear nothing? Beauty manifests God, but what if God does not call your name out of the flames? Only silence. No appointment with destiny.…

Twenty miles outside town, out among corn fields and orchards, we find the driveway marked by an unassuming sign: Plainsong Farm. As we pull in and park on the grass, I’m struck by how ordinary it all looks. Two farm…

Tuesday was my first day back teaching after nine months away. I was on sabbatical last semester, so I missed all the drama my poor colleagues endured as they shifted—basically in one weekend—from in-person to online learning. Yes, I felt…