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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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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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The Ten Year Challenge
I did not see 2019 in front of me; and particularly not all that's happened during those years. But in that moment, I felt alone, forgotten, angry; even mad.
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A Picture Paints a Million Memories
A friend recently posted on her Instagram that she thinks her kids and husband are growing tired of her taking so many pictures of them. Then said “but one day they’ll thank me.” I couldn’t agree more. Somewhere along the way between my post-high school days and young adult years, I became the unofficial keeper of the family history, including pictures. I wasn’t as obnoxious as one of my sisters who “ready or not,” would shove a still or video camera in your face and take your photo or start filming, whether you wanted it or not, I believed in the “grab your lip gloss, straighten your shirt, pull your…
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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…
