Valda Goudie

February is here, and our local shops are shrines of red cellophane, oversized teddy bears, and enough chocolate to make a dentist weep. It is the month of love, candlelit dinners, and awkward first dates. However, my focus is on a different kind of “first date”: the moment a visitor walks through our church doors. While checking out the location of an upcoming funeral, I noticed that the church had a one-star review. Curious, I read that the guest did not feel welcome there. When we consider that church[...]

"Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens, you who has done great things. Who is like you, God?" Psalm 71:19 (NIV). I hum a merry, seasonal tune while decorating the house. Friends and family will come for dinner tomorrow, and I want things to look festive. I make sure there are candles dispersed throughout. There's something magical about candlelight, how it brings light and life to the room, along with the little twinkling lights already strung about. I've been planning and preparing the meal for[...]

“It’s time to sit on your chair now,” I said to my young student who had just started school, three weeks behind his peers. I pointed at his chair and waved my hands in a downward motion. He crawled under a table—not even his table. With three children in my class this year who don’t speak English, I have had to draw on some skills I don’t feel are my gift: ACTING! It’s not my first time teaching students whose first language is not English. However, it’s the first time in a long time that I�[...]

“Is that your dad’s car, Valda?” My head swivelled toward the road behind us so quickly that I almost hurt my neck. I saw the two beams of the headlights and the familiar vertical lights on the sides of the car dividing the two car doors. There was a fifty percent chance that this was my father’s vehicle, so I reacted the same way I would if I were adamantly certain—I ran for the embankment on the side of the road and ducked down. Only after my dad (or the other man who owned a similar car with si[...]

When the mob sentenced the accused man to death by crucifixion, Pontius Pilate washed his hands of the whole Jesus Christ trial. As a centurion, it was my responsibility to oversee the entire affair. My soldiers were ruthless, as they were prone to be in treason/blasphemy cases. After they flogged Him with a lead-tip whip, they dressed Christ in a purple robe and completed the outfit with a crown of thorns to mock and humiliate Him. "Hail! King of the Jews!" they taunted, bowing before Him as they laughed a[...]

When she hugged her father for the last time before he died, it was the first hug she had ever experienced with him. As she felt the warmth of his chest and his long arms surrounding her, she felt the pang of regret. Why had she never been held by this man--her father? He awkwardly patted her back and pulled away, averting his eyes to look out the window. He muttered a superficial goodbye and shuffled away, signalling that it was time for her to leave. She swallowed the lump in her throat and swiped ang[...]

Young Mary was going about her day with excited distraction. Newly engaged, she looked forward to becoming Joseph's wife. What would it be like to be married? Would Joseph like her cooking? Would he be a tidy housemate? What would their future look like? Would they have children? With her mind full of hearts and rainbows, Mary was startled when an angel appeared before her. "Greetings, favoured woman! The Lord is with you!" Mary's mouth opened in confusion. Who let this being into her room? Why was she fav[...]

The staff meeting was virtual (and optional), so I decided to listen in my car rather than rush to work earlier. When I plugged the cord into my phone, connecting it to my Apple CarPlay, a message popped on the screen, assuring me that the app would automatically turn off my camera and microphone. Perfect. No one needed to watch me drive, put on my lipstick or check my teeth at the stoplight. The drive wasn’t long, but it took close to fifteen minutes with the morning traffic. Usually, I’d head-bob and t[...]

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." Romans 12:2 (ESV). Have you ever stood in a strong wind and, despite your best efforts, had to take a step to maintain your balance? I've come to recognize HEARTstrong as that step as the winds of change blow against God's church. Such gale-force winds do remind me of my roots… When I went to elementary school in Newfoundlan[...]

The Lord is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? (Psalm 27:1(NLT). While we sat in our car as we travelled, the vehicle’s engine slept; the forward motion accredited to the marine vessel it rested on. But, unlike other weekly sea voyages home from the mainland, the motion was less ‘forward’ this time than up and down and side to side. The forward progress was more difficult to measure with the estimated time[...]