I once read about a mother who tragically lost a child, and every Christmas after hid in bed, leaving her husband and other children to holiday without her. I read this after the loss of our firstborn, and I felt so much empathy for this grieving mother. Traumatic loss can trigger staggering emotions on what …
Why Our Longing for Home Never Goes Away
“Are you going home for the holidays?” This is a question I hear from some of the sweet people in our new state. We all long for home. And that sense of home can be elusive, and almost hard to recognize until it’s threatened. My relationship with the concept of home is complicated and full …
Why We Need Both Lament and Joy
Here are two true things: We must learn to be comfortable with both deep lament and deep joy. Recently, I’ve felt wounds healing and grief dimming. There is a day to lament and a day to rejoice, and this week I’m choosing to rejoice. Before I get to joy, a few words on grief. We …
Loving God and Self-Care aren’t Mutually Exclusive
To use one truth to try to dismiss another isn’t biblical, but instead, both of these truths together help us have a healthy perspective about God and ourselves.
Why I Repented of My Lack of Fiction Reading
My title is tongue-in-cheek because I hardly think my previous reading habits were sinful, though very limited in scope. Unless you imagine missing out on many great works of literature is sinful. If so, I was definitely living a life of bookish sin. A theology major once amused me by saying he couldn’t imagine reading …
Fighting Evil without Becoming Evil
If your social media looks anything like mine, it is full of arguments of angry people. Since the 2016 election, there have been more significant rifts in political thought, friendships, and relationships. Hatred seems to boil over, over and over again. Points of contention are over vital topics, and it is evident that we need …
Where to Find Other Articles I’ve Written
Between moving, several trips, and a few bad colds, I’ve neglected to let you know until now that I’ve had several articles published elsewhere. Some of them tackle difficult topics – essential topics, but difficult too. The first is one I wrote for Christianity Today on Empathy. While I share some personal stories, the thrust …
Easter Hope after Dark Days
I was recently talking to a friend facing daunting struggles, and we both shared a blooming hope in our heart for better days ahead. It was a hope that seemed almost irresponsible to hold onto since it wasn’t based on our circumstances. We have both felt the truth of Proverbs 13:12 in the past which …
True Friendship
Inspired by loss, yes, but really by my “true friends.” You know who you are. Thank you for drawing near instead of falling away. (Read my other poem here: Hope Flickers). True friendship Glimmers here, shadows of it there Often just out of reach It’s easy to find People wanting things from people Smiles and …
Experiencing Loss in a World Full of Babies
A common topic for grieving mothers and the infertile is how to handle the joy of others. It’s a tension and a puzzle for both the one with loss and the one with joy. What does grief have to do with joy? And what does joy have to do with grief? These two opposite emotions …