My son has been hospitalized at least a dozen times. He’s had three surgeries. He sees five therapists every week. Most things are not easy for him. I won’t lie: there’s a lot of hard in there that none of us asked for. I wish genetic anomalies hadn’t busted up my dreams. Have we not…
Don’t you sometimes wish you could be a child again? Life was much easier when someone else was watching over you, keeping you safe. You were seen and secure. When I was eight years old, my grandparents built a house next door to ours. While the house was under construction, my siblings and I would…
Before I got married, I had specific expectations of what my marriage would and would not be. We would love each other sacrificially. We would not fight. We would work through conflict, not hold grudges. All of that lasted exactly three days after we said “I do.” We didn’t do any of it. We got…
Did you know that the United States currently averages over 750,000 divorces a year, making it one of the countries with the highest divorce rate in the world? You may quickly assume that this heartbreaking statistic results from young and impulsive decisions. However, statistics reveal a different trend. Since 1990, the age group most likely…
“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:19 NIV) I always like really good definitions, so I looked up what it means to ponder. Merriam-Webster defines ponder as, “to weigh in the mind, think about, or reflect on.” Another definition I read, from Oxford Languages, stated that ponder…
In the northern latitudes, winter is dark. It is also cold and windy, but it is the long, persistent darkness that can overwhelm me. With sixteen hours of darkness each day, I cling to light in every form. Candles, lamps, and wood fires can all draw me close and soothe my soul. It’s not just…