I haven’t written much this year because…well, I could give you a litany of excuses, but mainly because I have been emotionally spent. This year I said goodbye to my grandmother and to Michael’s mom (my first mother-in-law). In addition to those losses, my stepdad is battling a rare form of cirrhosis and his health has declined rapidly. We’ve had many ups and downs on…
September is Suicide Prevention Month, and yet yesterday in the news I read of another death by suicide. This grieves my heart. In Western culture, we have a low tolerance for pain. We live in a world of instant gratification. We have a headache, and we pop an ibuprofen. Sinus pressure — no worries, there’s a med for that too. Something happens to our psyche…
Three days ago, I sat with my grandmother who was struggling to find peace. She wanted to talk but couldn’t. I tried singing with her, and she’d say, “Let me sing. Let me sing.” She then quickly got frustrated because her mouth would not cooperate. She was getting restless when I said, “Grandma, this Sunday is Easter. Let’s read the Easter story.” I then picked…
There are times when grief threatens to swallow us whole. It seems like it will never end. Recently, I’ve walked through the valley of the shadow of death alongside several people who long for peace and healing… This week I went to the funeral of a precious woman and I was really moved by a post by her son regarding the bereavement process. “We lost…
Chester Bennington. Chris Cornell. Friends. Both died by suicide just 2 months apart. Individuals who have lost a loved one to suicide are at an increased risk of suicide themselves. One study reports that people bereaved by suicide (Survivors of Suicide, aka SOS) within the past year were 1.6 times more likely to struggle with suicidal ideation, 2.9 times more likely to create a suicidal plan,…
One of the things I love about the Masaii Mara in Kenya is that you never know what is around the next bend. You can drive for miles and see nothing but wide open plains dotted with acacia trees and then out of nowhere you see a lion crouched for a kill. Each safari is unique…each carries unexpected surprises, both good and bad. (Click here…