There’s a soup lady on my street in Bangkok whose soup is so nourishing it makes me cry. Anytime I am sick or in a funk, I head straight to her wheeled cart and take my place in line behind construction workers before ordering a steamy bowl of chicken and rice noodles in a rich…
Category: spirituality
Saint Patrick for Today
{A condensed, more polished version of this story can be read at Sojourners} The rain drums steadily on the windshield of our rental van as we drive through winding roads in the Irish countryside. The landscape alternates between dense forest and rocky clearings. Shades of green and grey stretch for miles. Our plans to…
The River and the Imaginary Variable
I was raised on the banks of the Saline River in Benton, Arkansas. My “home” was a miniature distributary where the water was just calm and shallow enough to settle in cozily. My “food” was giant sycamore leaves I called fish. It was where I learned to tread water. It was where I caught the…
Crucifixion of the Warrior God, a book review
The Crucifixion of the Warrior God is an endlessly thought-provoking and spirit-challenging work. Don’t read it if you want to stay comfortable with what you already know.
Driving in Bangkok
I’ve been living in Bangkok for a year and a half, and I am finally feeling brave enough to drive in this country. Actually, my husband gets credit for pushing me to do it before leaving for a month-long trip. Up until now, I have dragged myself and three kids around in taxis, trains,…
The Little Rock Nine Still Call to Me
If you’re an Arkansan, chances are you recognize the picture. It’s one that makes most of us cringe and close our eyes in embarrassment. Not our finest moment in Arkansas history, and one we wish never happened. In 1954 the Supreme Court decided in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka that segregation in…
Rainy Season and a Cloud of Witnesses
Rainy season. It’s that time of year in Thailand when I crank up the AC and curl up by the window with a book, cup of tea and a blanket and pretend that it’s winter. It’s an art of mental foolery. I see the clouds and listen to the rain. I invoke images of a…
NATALIE TOON PATTON 