On an August morning, rain started lightly coming down as I was sitting on our patio. Yet I didn’t feel a drop on me due to the towering oaks and maples that canopy our backyard. I thought about how God protects his children in storms […]
Gifts from Invisible Illness
Living with an invisible illness feels like living with a secret. You want to blurt out your burdens or bury them so you can interact without the baggage. You worry you’re too much or not enough. Along with the struggles, however, there are beautiful gifts that come with chronic illness. Three invisible illness warriors share the gifts they’ve discovered along the way[…]
Learning the Language of Shared Grief and Lament
I chuckled when I saw the lone “late bloomer” on our azalea bushes. All the others had their season in the sun blooming bright pinks and purples, but now most were brown crusty blobs ready to drop to the ground. I’m a late bloomer, too, when it comes to learning the language of lament and grieving well with others. […]
Suffering and the Self-Exalting Sinner
At times, I’ve allowed my pain to become my idol. My will was a life with no more detours and no more pain. God’s will was to take me to a place of utter emptiness, a channel to dredge out dreams of ease and replace them with a deep-rooted faith in a good Father. […]