Table of contents for March 2019 in Guideposts

Every winter, I serve as a judge for the National Magazine Awards. It’s an opportunity to study the amazing work that magazines from all over the country are doing. (Don’t let anyone tell you the web is killing print.) Of course, I can’t help but compare the work I judge with what we do here at Guideposts. The conclusion I’ve come to is that there is nothing else like Guideposts and its sister publications, in print or online. Why? Variety. Even the best magazines hew to a fairly narrow focus—politics, entertainment, sports, health, lifestyle, fashion. But when I open an issue of Guideposts, I am met with a profusion of human experience, with inspiring storytellers of incredible diversity. What unifies the content is one core belief: Faith helps people everywhere…

SHARING OF THE GREEN My late friend Joan wasn’t much of a gardener. She used to say that not only weren’t her thumbs green but none of her other fingers were, either! Despite that (or maybe because of it), every March she liked to give someone a small potted shamrock plant. Sometimes the recipient was a teacher who’d done something special for Joan’s daughter, who struggled with learning disabilities. Other times, it might be a lonely resident in a nursing home. One March, when I was going through a difficult divorce, it was me. That plant is now huge and thriving. Tradition has it that Saint Patrick used the shamrock’s three leaves to symbolize the Holy Trinity as he brought Christianity to the Irish. Though Joan liked that story, she…

HATE IS A POWERFUL WORD. A scary word. That’s exactly how I felt about my ex-husband. I loathed Bob. I was disgusted by him. Bob was an opioid addict. Though he managed to hide his addiction in the early years of our marriage, eventually life with him became intolerable and I got out. Two years after we divorced, Bob took our two younger kids on a fishing trip—the court awarded him visitation rights every other weekend, and I couldn’t do a thing about it. He was high. He weaved his pickup truck across the center line and smashed into an oncoming car. Jake, our two-and-a-half-year-old son, was killed instantly. Bob had put Jake in the front seat wearing only a lap belt. In a moment of distraught prayer after the…

2 cans (15 ounces each) chickpeas, drained and rinsed2 medium celery ribs, minced⅓ cup minced red onion¼ cup mayonnaise3 tablespoons fresh lemon juiceKosher salt and freshly ground black pepper¼ cup snipped fresh chives½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley12 large Bibb or iceberg lettuce leaves, for serving “We give you thanks, God, for all your giving—Delicious food, family and good living.”MELANIE SALAVA, Riverview, Florida Smashed Chickpea Salad Lettuce Wraps In a large bowl, using a potato masher or large whisk, coarsely smash most of the chickpeas. (Some chickpeas might still be whole.) Add celery, onion, mayonnaise and lemon juice to chickpeas; mix well. Season generously with salt and pepper. Stir in chives and parsley. Spoon the chickpea salad into the lettuce leaves and serve. Can be refrigerated in an airtight container…

FAITHFUL FRIENDS You might remember the stories I’ve written about my family (July 2017, February 2018 and January 2019). But an earlier Guideposts story introduced me to one of my best friends. I came across Lisa Leshaw’s 2014 story With You Always, about being comforted by hearing her dad’s voice on a recording after he’d passed away. I shared it on Facebook, tagging her and offering an encouraging comment. Lisa replied to my post, and we became fast friends. We talk on the phone and FaceTime almost weekly. Lisa is Jewish and has shared a lot about her faith with me. Last year my family and I celebrated Passover in her honor. A writing exercise we did together via e-mail is now a book, How Are You Feeling, Momma? (You…

Women’s History Month Meet 16 women who changed the world, like Malala Yousafzai, the youngest Nobel Prize laureate, at the age of 17. guideposts.org/16women Motivation From Meb In our exclusive video, champion marathoner Meb Keflezighi (page 60) discusses the life lessons he has learned during his storied career as a competitive long-distance runner in Boston and beyond. guideposts.org/mebruns 40 Days of Prayer Join our 40-day Lenten prayer program and you’ll get a daily e-mail with Scripture and a reflection to help you focus on the message of the cross. guideposts.org/prayinglent Keep Your Guideposts Coming We make it easy to renew your magazine, check on the length of your subscription, view your donation history or manage book series shipments. guideposts.org/ecares…

It was January. The holiday season was over—and our Bible study group was already gearing up for the next year’s festivities. We organized a kind of prayer “Secret Santa.” Each person in our group was randomly assigned another member of our large congregation. We were to pray for that person the whole year, then reveal our identity and give them a gift at the church’s next Christmas party. My Secret Santa was someone I’d never met. That wasn’t unusual in a church of our size, though. I studied the name on my card. Ana. Simple enough. But her last name was 11 letters long and mostly consonants. I had no idea how to pronounce it—but I was certain that God did. So I tucked the card into my wallet and…

San Diego, California MILE 12. THE 2017 BOSTON MARATHON. I was cruising, a mile short of the halfway point in one of the most prestigious races on the planet. Besides the Olympics, it doesn’t get any bigger. For once I’d done everything right. The diet. The training. My mental and spiritual focus. The fans along the tree-lined streets of Wellesley, Massachusetts, were cheering like crazy: “Let’s go, Meb!” “USA! USA!” I’m no longer surprised at people recognizing me. I’d run marathons since 2002, the only runner to have finished first in New York and Boston and medal at the Olympics. No American man had won here in more than three decades before I crossed the finish line in 2014, the first Boston Marathon after the horrific bombings. A few days…

“I allowed myself to be bullied because I was scared…. I was bullied until I prevented a new student from being bullied. By standing up for him, I learned to stand up for myself.”JACKIE CHAN, actor “The phrase I like to use is ‘add life to your years, not years to your life.’”LENNY GUARENTE, scientific director for the Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research at MIT “God always has a bigger purpose for us than we have for ourselves.”from Purpose: Breaking Through Insecurities, Expectations and the Pressure to Prove, by JORDAN LEE DOOLEY “…the pattern and fabric of each of our lives is not so random as we may have thought, and…kindness done in one lifetime can have far-reaching results.”from the book Life Between Heaven and Earth,…

I STOOD IN MY BEDROOM CLOSET, searching for the perfect outfit. The big day was coming, and I wanted to look my best. Did I own anything red, white and blue? All of my most colorful outfits were Indian. I didn’t want to look too Indian. Then again, I didn’t want to turn my back on my heritage either. I was born and raised in Tamil Nadu, India. In 2002, when I was 18, my father, a diplomat, was assigned to the United Nations in New York City. I moved to New York, married an American and settled in Oklahoma, where my husband, Destry, had been raised. After 16 years in America, I was about to make my relationship with my adopted home official. In just 48 hours I would…

Good food nourishes us not only physically but also emotionally and spiritually. Home cook Diane Hill Roark and Kyle Adams, executive chef at Good Samaritan Society’s national campus in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, have both observed that while cooking for others. “Eating healthy, nutritious food keeps your body, mind and soul working together,” Adams says. Here are some tips on how you too can feed the soul: Plan ahead. “Feeding the soul is not just about cooking,” Adams says. “It’s about being committed to the entire process, from meal planning and shopping to prep, cooking and storage.” Start by choosing recipes that fit your needs and your schedule for the week. Make a list of the ingredients (this helps prevent impulse buying and overbuying), and set aside time to shop…

MOUNTAIN OF WORRIES Driver’s ed. As a teenager, I couldn’t wait to learn to drive. But now as my daughter, Micah, approached her sixteenth birthday, I was a nervous wreck. Early one morning, I started praying as soon as I woke up. “God, please help me deal with this!” That prayer didn’t seem like enough. It didn’t cover the enormity of the situation. What if Micah forgets her seat belt? I thought, picturing her rocketing through the windshield. Or texts while she’s driving? I envisioned her flying over a cliff without noticing. Potential disasters filled my mind while I made breakfast for my daughter. Micah running a red light. Micah getting a flat tire. Micah running out of gas on a lonely road. A mountain of horrible possibilities… “I’m going…