Change is hard—especially when it’s not my idea. Especially when it leads to the unknown. Especially when it means letting go. “Immediately they left their nets and followed him.” With […]
Prayer for a New Year
A Valley-Walker’s Prayer for a New Year Dear God, as we step into a brand new year, we lift up this honest and heartfelt prayer. Our hearts are full of […]
Hope Has Come: Advent
I can think of nothing that threatens my hope more than the silence of God—endless waiting with not so much as a whisper from the One on whom my expectation […]
What Does it Mean to be Blessed?
Are we really blessed? In our culture, we tend to think of blessings as: But Jesus said, blessed are: Those last 5 are not exactly blessings I would choose. But […]
Thankful for Grief
I am thankful for grief. Truly.Here’s why: 🥀 Grief is love. Not, “I once loved,” but rather, “I love still.” I am privileged to have had a love that was […]
Healing from the Inside Out
Years ago, following our baby girl’s open heart surgery, doctors were unable to close her sternum, so they sewed a patch over her incision, and sent her to the PICU. […]
Death Gives Way to Life
It was a sunny October afternoon when death came to visit. Once my favorite season—filled with family birthdays at apple orchards, hot pumpkin spice lattes on crisp, frosty mornings and […]
Mercy Met Me There
Four years ago, today, I stood in a hospital corridor, begging God for the life of this man. There are no words sufficient to describe what my whole being was […]
Irreparably Broken
Do you feel irreparably broken? A few minutes of watching the news or scrolling social media reminds me that I don’t hold a monopoly on brokenness. There is pain, devastation […]
Early Retirement: Why Does God Allow Good Men to Die Young?
Just a few weeks after my husband’s funeral, a young friend stopped by the church to see me. She wondered why God would allow a godly man’s life to be […]
Post-Traumatic Resilience
This is resilience. I remember a huge holly tree that took up residence next to our house when I was young. She was actually quite beautiful, but when she started […]
The Gift of Suffering
Sometimes, it’s good to remind myself that I don’t corner the market on suffering. I was watching my new favorite podcast today, and one of the guys (Josh) was walking […]

