Sean Dietrich
Columnist
Sean is a writer for The Observer
Sean Dietrich's Latest
OPINION — Lake Martin shimmers beneath a heavy midday sun. I am sitting on a dock.There are distant sounds of splashing. Kids laughing. All the children are swimming. All their respective adults are sitting ashore, dry. As adults often are.There is...
BY WALT ALBRITTON OPINION — When Dean and I were 28, we met an English teacher who was a radiant witness for Jesus. It was love at first sight. Her name was Estelle Carver. Thirty years older than us, she was serving as the Bible Hour teacher in...
BY WALT ALBRITTON OPINION — The word “hand” can be found 1500 times in the Bible. When Cain killed Abel, the ground opened to receive Abel’s blood “from the hand” of his brother.Moses took the staff of God in his hand. When Moses’ hands grew tired,...
BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — On my kitchen counter is a pound cake, sitting on a pedestal, beneath a glass dome.Pound cake is the food of summer. It can make or break the entire season. A summer without pound cake is like church without singing,...
BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — Thank you for the care package, Miss Paula. Thank you for the cute basket of homemade jams with handwritten labels. Do you know how long it’s been since I had mayhaw jelly? A long time.But most importantly, thank you for...
BY WALT ALBRITTON OPINION — Jesus told how the Spirit of the Lord came upon him and anointed him to preach. I remember when the same thing happened to me.During my senior year in Wetumpka High School, I helped to arrange a youth revival that was...
OPINION — BY SEAN DIETRICH I got into an argument at the supermarket. This is how volatile our world is right now. It was in the checkout line. My opponent was not only clueless, but pigheaded, refusing all logic. The fact that my opponent is only...
BY WALT ALBRITTON OPINION — I enjoy staying busy, but over the years I have had to turn off the engine and allow my soul to catch up with my body. And many times, I found that a walk in the woods was a good remedy for exhaustion.Though I can no...
BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — “Dear Sean,” the email began. “I teach vacation Bible school… Last year we had three Latino children whose parents are undocumented immigrants…“Church leadership felt it best not to allow these children to attend VBS this...
OPINION — It is morning again. I am dragging, as usual. I understand why. Fatigue is the primary side effect of my chemotherapy medicine. Weakness is a small price to pay for the way this drug has stopped my cancer from growing. After two years in...
BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — Waffle House. My waitress has a bunch of tattoos. The women customers in the booth behind mine are talking about it in voices loud enough to alter the migratory patterns of waterfowl.“Did you see ALL her tattoos? Our...
BY WALT ALBRITTON OPINION — In recent years we have become aware of the phrase, “little acts of kindness.” This awesome idea has caused many of us to show others acts of kindness in small ways.Two examples come to mind: First, you are in line at...
BY SEAN DIETRICH From June 1, 2024 OPINION — Today I read an article my friend sent to me. The article was something that went viral on social media. When I finished reading it, I felt so bad that I had to take some Pepto-Bismol and lie down.It was...
OPINION — When I decided as a teenager to live for Jesus, I had no idea how frustrating that would be. My struggle to live “like Jesus” met with disappointment at every hand. It began to seem foolish to think that I could imitate Jesus in all my...
From July 7, 2024OPINION — It was a weekend. A lot of people were there. And by “a lot,” I mean folks were standing two or three deep.It’s one of the most popular sites in D.C. Maybe the hottest spot in the whole town period. The tourist magazines...
OPINION — There is more to the story of Balaam in the Bible that the amusing account of his talking donkey. Balaam is mentioned in five books of the Old Testament: Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Micah and Nehemiah. And Balaam’s name is found three...
BY SEAN DIETRICH OPINION — She shall remain anonymous.Her classroom was out of control. Had been for a while. The kids in her “at-risk” fourth-grade class were about as organized as a prison riot.That’s what we call them in today’s world. “At-risk...
BY WALT ALBRITTON OPINION — Three chapters in the Book of Numbers are devoted to a man named Balaam and his talking donkey. As I read again the story, I was arrested by the idea that Balaam could not see what his donkey saw — an angel with a drawn...
OPINION — From May 2022 I bought a jigsaw puzzle at the grocery store today. The box features an ornate cathedral with red roses and blossoming foliage. The cathedral is in Germany. The puzzle cost two bucks. My mother and I used to do jigsaw...
BY WALT ALBRITTON OPINION — I dearly love the song, “Precious Memories.” The one line that continually bubbles up in my mind is the song’s basic theme: “Precious memories, how they linger, how they ever flood my soul.”Ah yes, they do so linger....