Comfort
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There He Stands
He stands in silence, listening, without a word. Does anyone notice? Will anyone care? Do they even remember that he’s there?
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There Never is Just One
Family isn't always just the people who you live in a house with. A grieving widow may have lost her husband, but that man was a son before he married. He was "best friends" with some of the kids he grew up with; and oftentimes, he is a brother to siblings, a nephew to aunts and uncles, and cousin to many. The wife must be comforted, but it shouldn't be at the exclusion of acknowledging others who grieve with her.
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How to Help a Grieving Friend
I sat quietly back, sipping on the lemonade the pastor had brought to the house, along with sacks full of Chick-Fil-A, and watched as the parade of people stopped by my sister’s house. We were only 36 hours into this shock wave, and there was already a long list of things to do; decisions that had to be made sooner rather than later. Hours earlier, we sat with the Director of the memorial gardens where my young nephew would be laid to rest, picking out all the various elements one had to do before the burial. This was not our first experience. We’d unfortunately entered the world of family loss…
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In the Middle of My Grief
In the middle of my grief, she felt my pain; And cared.
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Do You Have the Faith of the Centurion?
Christians often use the functionality of a chair as one of their analogies about faith. Our faith is that the chair will hold us up when we sit in it. The thought is that without faith that a chair will do what it’s supposed to do, we would never sit down. That’s a fair analogy. After all, every day we sit down in various chairs throughout the day. But the analogy is also flawed if what we’re trying to show is an example of having faith in God. What happens when you have the faith for that chair to hold you, so you walk over and sit in it. And…
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The Healing Ministry of Presence
There Never is Just One
Into the Arms of the Lord
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Breathing With Your Mouth Closed
When was the last time you've taken in a deep breath of the outdoor air, blowing out slowly enough to appreciate the fact that you're alive, and that you are able to see, hear, feel, and be a part of life.
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Is it Time to Get Off the Grid
Sometimes, you just need to take some time out. Get off the grid. And just relax. Sometimes, you need to think about nothing; nothing at all. Let the sights around you, and the sounds of nature or your favorite music, take the lead. Close your eyes. Rest your eye lids. Clear your mind…and your calendar. Why do we let life push us? Sometimes even push us over? We feel fragile….vulnerable…tired, as people keep making demands of us. And sometimes we require too much of ourselves? So stop. You don’t have to keep allowing the bricks of life to keep piling on. Stop. And do something different. Take the time to…
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Into the Arms of the Lord
A friend and former colleague off mine texted me on yesterday (Tuesday) and said that they were calling hospice for her mom. I was out and about, and missed the first text by about an hour. This Wednesday morning, a second text alerted me that she had passed away earlier in the morning. “Mom slipped quietly into the arms of the Lord early this morning. She is at peace.” I knew her mother lived back in her hometown, about an hour from where my friend lived. She was elderly and had been battling dementia for many years. My friend’s sister had been the primary caretaker since their dad passed away…
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The Healing Ministry of Presence
I saw this tweet last week from Rick Warren, a pastor, an author, and the father of a son who committed suicide several years ago. That had to be so hard for him, his wife and family, being a pastor of a large church, a best-selling author of several books, including The Purpose Driven Life, and in the public spotlight for a number of reasons; beyond just the Church community. Grieving the loss of a loved one is hard enough, for anyone. But having to do it in a fishbowl of onlookers, had to be hard. That said, I will admit that I was one of the onlookers, not just…
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The Bittersweet Grief in Celebrations and Special Occasions
As I sat in the audience watching my oldest nephew being pinned during his promotion ceremony, I couldn’t help but think about how proud my parents; especially my dad, would have been of him. My dad served over 20 years in the US Army; including three tours in two different wars. Growing up on a military base, and later settling just outside of one at his retirement, was the only pre-adult life I knew. I had several family members who became a part of the military service. Both of my brothers entered the Army right out of high school, with one making it a career choice, just as my dad…
