Cedar Valley News — June 13, 2025

Faith and the Front Porch
By: Dan Larson
From the fictional town of Cedar Valley, where characters from Quiet Echo continue to respond to real-world events.

When headlines divide, the porch is where peace begins. That’s the thought running through my mind this morning as I reflect on the news about the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold access to the abortion pill, mifepristone. Whether the ruling brought relief, grief, or just more questions, one thing is certain: our community doesn’t need more shouting — we need more listening. And not the kind that waits its turn to speak, but the kind that leans in, puts down the sign or the Scripture for a moment, and says, “Help me understand your heart.”

I’m not a judge, and I don’t have a bench — I have a porch. The kind where cereal bowls rest beside scripture study, where muddy shoes line up like a congregation of the everyday, and where grace tends to show up in socks, not robes.

This morning, my son wandered out asking why we leave the porch light on during the day. I started to answer, but then my youngest daughter stepped out humming Love One Another, holding her Book of Mormon upside down like it still made perfect sense. That’s when I remembered: we’re not raising arguments. We’re raising children. And they’re watching how we respond when the world feels torn.

It’s easy to take a side. It’s harder to take someone’s hand.