Allen Reding

What Faith Looks Like in a Pandemic

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School’s starting soon, and our “detailed” return plans are held together by Jell‑O. Anxiety among teachers is high, even more so with the virus still looming. Some say faith means no fear—others say wisdom may ask for caution. Is fleeing fear or failure of faith? Scripture doesn’t say faith always looks brave. Sometimes it looks smart, humble, or even quiet. And maybe that’s okay. This piece isn’t telling believers how to act. It’s offering a thought: faith doesn’t have one face—and maybe that’s a relief.

students react to earsplitting noise

Just Carry On Like Normal

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I taught in ten different classrooms before real stability—floated through schools like a substitute in my own career. Then came asbestos, portables, fire‑alarms that never shut off—and the refrain: “carry on like normal.” If harnessing chaos was a policy, we aced it. Now, “normal” feels almost fictional. And after 9/11 and hurricanes, COVID has rewritten even that. Maybe what needs to be normal is our care—not business, not calm, but our commitment to one another, even when the world tells us to act otherwise.

free solo climb

Big Assumptions, Big Risks

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The decision to reopen schools came with a sense of urgency, as if the only way forward was to return to “normal.” But it was normal with masks, daily health checks, and a lot of uncertainty. Parents and teachers were left to balance the promises of stability with the real risks of exposure. The trade-off wasn’t just numbers on a chart—it was people’s lives and livelihoods. Thinking about the choice between online-only learning and returning to regular classes reminds me of a scenario I share with my economics classes: Assume you could put seatbelts on every new school bus produced … Read more

Two children having fun with colorful doughnuts as eyeglasses indoors.

The Challenge of Not Being Foolish

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When it comes to my health, I’ve made more than my share of foolish choices. For years I shrugged them off—until my doctor laid the truth out in numbers I couldn’t laugh away. Sugar isn’t only hiding in sodas or candy; sometimes it’s right there in the “healthy” things I thought I was choosing. That reality check stung, but it also gave me space to be honest, both with her and with myself. Foolishness doesn’t vanish overnight. But admitting it is the beginning—and choosing a better path, even slowly, is how it finally starts to fade.