Lord, help me to realize how brief my time on earth will be. Help me to know that I am here for but a moment more. (Psalm 39:4 TLB) I was downstairs on our elliptical, trying to get in a quick workout before I had to run my girls to their afternoon dance class. I…
The phone rang at 6:30 a.m. on a wintry March day six years ago, and the words my brother yelled over the line forever changed my life: “Mom’s dead!” We had no warning—none. She was a laughing, loving, vibrant part of our lives, and then she wasn’t. She was ripped from us like a piece…
As the weekend approached, I felt myself slipping into a funk that mimicked previous bouts of depression—except I couldn’t put my finger on a cause. I was sad. I was tired. I was defeated. After spending the day conquered and unmotivated, I took note of the date. It was the anniversary of my parents’ deaths….
I hate winter. I grew up in the southern part of Florida, just a few miles from the Atlantic Ocean. My childhood was drenched in endless sunshine, flowers that never faded, and clear, turquoise ocean waves. My surroundings were, in a word, idyllic. My home was green and warm all year long, without a season…
The doctor’s cheery voice gave way to a clipped monotone. He left the room and returned with a female technician. I assumed he was simply inexperienced at doing ultrasounds and bristled with irritation as the woman redid everything he had just done. Then the woman put her hand on my arm and said the words…
The hospital room where my twenty-six-year-old daughter lay against snowy sheets grew quiet as a tomb. Her husband sat next to her. He leaned his back against the wall, holding her hand, which was covered with bandages. Tubes pulled at her pale skin. His thumb caressed her palm back and forth, back and forth. Each…