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 […]
Parable of an Ice Cream Cone
I pass by a small child, with a deliciously drippy ice cream cone in her hand on a sweltering hot day. What joy she must be feeling in that moment! […]
That Which Appears to be Dead
Self Portrait “I took this picture today. Looking at it later it dawned on me, this is a picture of widowhood. See that tree, unnoticeable at first, in the middle?? […]
Choreography of Compassion
Dear friends, Another Mother’s Day has passed and Father’s Day is upon us. It is right and fitting to honor those we love. But what of the orphan, the childless, […]
Dreading Mother’s Day
To the girl who is dreading Mother’s Day… I see you. My very first Mother’s Day was spent in silence—with excruciatingly empty arms—only two months after burying my little girl. […]
Sunday Isn’t Coming
It’s Saturday. The most hopeless day in history. Hope personified is laying in a tomb, lifeless. The disciples are hiding, mourning the death of their friend and teacher, grieving over […]