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You Don’t Know What You Have…
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV) “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” This morning, I hopped out of bed, raced to the bathroom, and stood under the hot shower for fifteen minutes. I know what you’re thinking. Big deal. I do that every morning. You’re so not jealous of my quarter-hour shower. But maybe you should be. A few months ago, that same morning routine went something like this: I rolled over to face the wheelchair parked next to my bed, my broken ankle waking with me, the throb timing itself to match the staccato pulse blaring from the alarm. I killed the…
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Bring on the Blessings
I’ve been thinking a lot about blessings lately. It’s been a hard few years for our family. My son recently hit the twenty-month mark in his journey with leukemia. We’re shuffling along slower than we were before cancer struck and forced him home from college to battle for his life. The adrenaline that hit at his diagnosis, and pushed us through crisis after crisis, has given way to a crash of exhaustion. We’re ready to ride the downhill relief of getting over the worst of the cancer mountain, yet we’re stuck in the middle of the climb. Every one of us is drained and tired and ready to be done–because…
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The Trouble with Honesty
One Sunday while I waited for my husband to park the car, I sat on the bench next to the coffee bar in the church lobby. For fifteen minutes, I watched people coming in and out of the sanctuary. Most of them were smiling and hugging. Almost all of them asked each other the same question—“How are you?” Here’s a breakdown of the answers: “Awesome.” <given with an over-exuberant grin> “Great.” <given with a regular grin> “Fine.” <given with a barely there grin> Most of the answers and grins seemed genuine. But sometimes when the hug ended and the person who asked the question disappeared down the hall, the…
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Honesty Central: Getting Real
With the exception of a few posts, I haven’t blogged for close to a year. Not since my son, Kyle, relapsed with leukemia. I wrote a few posts on that topic that I won’t repeat. But here are the links if you or someone you love is struggling with cancer. When Life Stops, Wishes, Wants, and Secrets Fantasies, You Want Me to be Thankful for What? I’m a writer. It doesn’t matter how many times I’ve been published or in what venue, that need to create lives in my soul. It’s part of who I am. It is who I am. You’d think the first thing I’d turn to in…
