Who we are

I first encountered Harold E. Kohn’s writings during a difficult season. Little did I know that his words—written decades before I was born—would leap from the page and begin to heal my broken spirit.

At that point in my life, I was disillusioned with church and found it difficult to read my Bible or even pray. But in my weakness, God found a way to comfort and calm my heart—through the uplifting words of Harold E. Kohn.

There is a reason why his writings could touch my soul as nothing else could—he had people like me in mind when he wrote.

In the preface to his books, Kohn disclosed that he aimed to bring cheer to the discouraged, to lighten dark moods, and to lift weary and burdened spirits. He also revealed that he intentionally wrote in a way that could be “grasped by tired minds.”

What does that look like in practice? How does an author’s writing change when their intended audience includes hurting people? Their words aren’t forceful, demanding, judgmental, or controlling. Instead, they are thoughtful, gracious, kind, and patient.

That’s what I needed when I first discovered Kohn’s writings; it’s what I’ve needed many times since, and it is what this generation needs as well.

Many people today are disillusioned by organized religion, and pain from their past makes it difficult for them to go to church, read the Bible, or even pray.

If that describes you, I’m excited for you to experience the fresh, uplifting words of these books. If you know others who are struggling, weary, broken, or burdened, share this with them so that they can encounter the kind, caring, compassionate Creator that Kohn paints so beautifully.

I owe Harold E. Kohn a great personal debt, and, one day, I will thank him for how he encouraged me during some of my hardest times. But I will need to get in line, because since discovering his writings, I’ve learned that his life, ministry, and writings impacted countless people.

He was a remarkable man, who in just 57 years on this earth, experienced intense suffering of his own (a rare brain condition, cancer, multiple brain surgeries, eventual blindness, chronic hives), but sought to bring cheer to others through his pastoral ministry, counseling practice, writing career, and his many artistic expressions – including poetry, watercolor, ink, scratch art, and wood burning.

It was his acute awareness of the brevity of life that compelled him to see beauty in nature, in people, and in the Creator himself.

In a brief biography of her father, Kohn’s daughter, Carolyn, wrote, “It was under the prodding of the recurrent tumor, the constant reminder of life’s finiteness, that much of his life’s work was undertaken…The writing and counseling of Harold Kohn carried through it a depth of understanding and courage particularly inspired and inspiring because of the great suffering out of which and in spite of which it came.”

I had the privilege of meeting Carolyn and her husband Larry. They graciously took me on a tour of the church her father pastored in Charlevoix, Michigan and the 40-acre parcel called Hidden Brook, where Kohn found inspiration for his writing and art projects.

Carolyn, now in her eighties, affectionately referred to her father as “Daddy” as she shared dozens of beautiful stories about him. He was a naturalist who studied the sciences and was always eager to share an outdoor parable with any child who would ask (something that happened often). He was a lover of books, who during a season of his life, chose to go without a car, because he’d rather spend his money on literature (I saw his library, and it is impressive!). He also had a sweet sense of humor that was often expressed by magically pulling coins out from behind the ears of children.

I hope you enjoy these nature parables, told by a man who knew pain, loved nature, walked with its Creator, and shared his thoughtful reflections with the rest of us. My prayer is that these books will lift your spirit and strengthen your soul as they have mine.

Franklin Goldberg