-
Remembering Her at Christmas
I sit here next to her grandparents’ Christmas tree, a cozy fire nearby. I should not be sad in a place like this, and yet sorrow finds me even when the happiest season of all encompasses me. Next to this lighted Christmas tree, I sit in my memory today, when four months ago, I triumphantly…
-
A Prayer for the Dark Morning
Written: November 22 Lord the morning is dark A darkness that doesn’t retreat But instead sits heavy on my chestYes, my heart is weary and heavy-ladenEmpty are my armsHeavy are my steps. Despairing are my thoughts. But the darkness is not dark to YouYour arms uphold creationStrength girds Your steps even in Your sorrow.Many are Your thoughts of…
-
The Joys the World Offers
Written October 2024 I hear the birds. The weather is cooling off. The outdoors are calling, offering its songs and beckoning us toward joy and life. This world offers beauty – extending its hand with blessed gifts for the senses. A cup of coffee in the crisp morning. The steady closeness and support of my…
-
A Christmas Song for the Bereaved
A baby was born at night to save creation, symbolizing hope amid suffering. The King of Kings arrives as Emmanuel, witnessing human pain and bringing light to darkness. Despite the sorrow, a new song of joy proclaims His presence, as angels celebrate the arrival of the newborn King.
-
The God Who Weeps: Exploring Divine Sorrow
Grief is a right response to a world where children die. We want to hide the grieving away, to preserve our privileged view of security. We try to cover our vulnerability and the inevitability that suffering will come to us all. We want to pretend that the world isn’t writhing in agony, but the grieving…
-
Love that Salvages Faith in the Face of Tragedy
“The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house. Yet it didn’t collapse, because its foundation was on the rock. ” Matthew 7:25 Belief and unbelief wage an invisible war within me. Moment-to-moment tides of the battle move back and forth in a tug-of-war over my hope and my soul. I find…
-
9 Ways to Care for the Grieving Parent
Child loss is an incredibly difficult burden, not only on the family but also on friends and family in any sort of proximity. The fear of doing or saying the wrong thing can paralyze you. You don’t want to do something to make the pain worse. How do you actually run toward the suffering?
-
My Body’s Unanswered Plea
My body is confused why I would withhold the one thing that can make it feel better.
-
Driving by the Dying
I sit perched in the windowsill of the hospital room watching the cars on the highway. My daughter and all of the machines that now uphold her life lay feet away from me. How many times did I drive by this place of healing and death not knowing it would hold the final moments of…
-
The Scar of Suffering Love
Where is the salt that I may rub it into my wound and be scarred for life with remembrance of her.
A Mother's Lament 