Climbing mountains…
Imagine starting out without basic needs being met for years. Being moved from the only place you knew, although a tough place to be. Blessed to be taken care of, yet not your permanent home. Directed again to a new family, feeling stability for four years, only to lose a brother that loved you dearly. I…
Christmas light…
A Mother’s prayer….Dear Father, Thank you for Christmas, the birth of your only son for which I am eternally grateful. Today is the third Christmas since our son left this earth, to live with you in heaven. This mother’s heart is broken. No matter how I try to distract myself or how much time passes,…
Life lessons…
As we currently look at colleges for our daughter, a lesson learned blares at us. I share this in hopes that you will never need it and I have been known to repeat it. 🙂 While considering college for our first born child we looked at field of study, costs, distance, ranking, scholarships offered, etc. Letting…
False positive…
A false positive is a test result that is incorrect because the test indicated a condition finding that does not exist. As we were expecting our second child, I was told she would have down-syndrome. We were given choices to consider for controlling this outcome. She was born a healthy, beautiful, determined, sweet baby girl.…
A grieving mother’s heart…
As my eyes close, somewhere between rest and sleep, I see you. I catch your fragrance. Suddenly, I feel horror and pain that open my eyes. Tears drain down my face. Realization of loss cuts through me. Grateful when sleep visits through your beautiful smile. Real, yet in my dreams. Not far away, I pray.…
Seeing through your heart…
There comes a point in life when your eyes are truly opened and you begin to see everything around you differently. It may be a tragic loss of a child, like it was for us. It may be news of an illness, loss of a spouse, a job, a divorce, or a multitude of other…
Risky business…
Everything is a risk. What if it doesn’t work out? What if I get sick? What if something bad happens? Oh dear friends, but what if it DOES work out! A conversation I vividly remember asking our son just before graduating high school was: If you had a “do over” what would you have done…
Some days you just need to give a shout out to loved ones! This week my Uncle Larry was promoted to his heavenly home. He represented many things in his life. When I spoke to him recently, he was telling me he was grateful that our family, like his, adopted children. He was blessed as…
Through the eyes of Claire…
Today marks two years since our son Connor was promoted to heaven. Along with grief, loss brings about growth and choices. The following has been written by our daughter Claire as her college entrance essay. By God’s grace, wherever she chooses to serve in life, there will be benevolence flowing through her. All of our…
Plans…
Two years ago today I was on a plane coming back from a work trip. A young woman that happened to be Connor’s age sat down next to me. She was joining her aunt and uncle for a visit from Utah to Missouri. We spoke about family, my son in college, school, friendship and faith.…
When October ends…
October has always been my favorite month of the year. The heat dissolves as I witness beautiful fall colors in the crisp air each day. Pumpkin everything suits me just fine. It’s not the scary things, but the beginning of a new season. Two of our children enjoy birthdays this month. I have prayed…
Gains from loss…
Our journey through grief has led to many gifts in this life we now lead. This week I watched as young people gathered together to help paint and restore donated furniture not knowing the story, yet willing to serve. I listened as my friend and servant, Dana, told the journey of how Restore Decor came…