By JIM NICHOLS It was a heavily traveled road, but a dangerous journey. You certainly did not want to walk it alone. It was not called the “way of blood” for nothing. It was a generally downhill trip from Jerusalem to Jericho with lots of twists and turns and rocks and boulders to try to avoid. However, the bandits were

By JIM NICHOLS Do you remember your first elementary school building? I do. I spent the first three-plus years of my education at Francis Willard Elementary in Kansas City. In kindergarten a boy held a crayon in his hand for a long time and it soon got softened and melted enough he could bend it into a curl; I was

By JIM NICHOLS Whether or not you are a follower of God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, you have some sort of spiritual stance. Furthermore, that stance did not just fall into you; it was developed over the years through what you have been told, what you have read, and the way you have interpreted what has happened

By JIM NICHOLS The monitor lights blinked with lines and numbers. The patient lay unmoving in the bed while family members quietly entered and exited the hospital room; they spoke softly and seldom. It seems to me that those employed in medical settings have a distinct human advantage over others. This is particularly true in our modern world. Whereas, in

By JIM NICHOLS In 1786 poet Robert Burns penned a line that is memorable. Paraphrased, it suggested it would be a great gift from God if we could see ourselves as others see us. I am speaking to myself now as well as readers. The two types of glass with which we are most familiar are windows and mirrors. Through

By JIM NICHOLS At the conclusion of a visit to a hospice patient, the outside caregiver must complete an electronic questionnaire regarding the impressions from the visit. This is a requirement of the hospice providing company as well as Medicare, the entity often paying for the service. Since there are generally three different types of service provided, there are three

By JIM NICHOLS It has happened so many times now that I have stopped thinking it is unusual. I will see or hear one snippet and, suddenly, a flood of other memories arises and stacks on top. One of my favorite parts of the local newspaper is a section “Today in History.” Here appears a short list of notable events

By JIM NICHOLS One of the most common delusions for you and me is to be blind to our own presuppositions or biases. Many have defined such assumptions as a worldview. This can be manifested on both personal and national levels. As an historical example, the New England Native American population in 1600, being a nomadic group, had a much

By JIM NICHOLS When I was a boy, one of my sets of grandparents had a large front porch. The whole house seemed to be made of rock and concrete and the porch was similarly constructed. There was a black wooden swing suspended from the ceiling and both children and adults could sit together. There were also other assorted chairs,