Author: Karen Harmening

June 8th will mark six years since the Mount Zion Baptist Church bus crash and Sarah's death. Mount Zion Baptist Church hosts an annual Serve Day on the first Saturday of June as a way of remembering God's faithfulness even on June 8, 2017; a day of great distress and suffering for many, and tragedy … Continue reading Serve Day 2023 →

Hopefully Missing YouLovingly dedicated to Sarah Lauren Harmening by her "Mommy" Some want me to be silent,to no longer say your name.  They’ve no way to know or understand, absent a deep loss the same.  My missing you is not hopeless, nor my remembering you in vain.  Sorrow deep, with Hope deeper yet,used by Him, my heart … Continue reading Hopefully Missing you →

We, Sarah's family, would love to share with you what it means to “serve like Sarah.” We did not initiate #servelikesarah after Sarah's death, but we are so grateful that is the phrase that came to other people's minds when reflecting on Sarah's life. It is so very fitting. Sarah had a deep and abiding … Continue reading #servelikesarah? →

"What shall I render to the LORD For all His benefits toward me? I shall lift up the cup of salvation And call upon the name of the LORD." Psalm 116:12-13 [NASB95] Easter is bittersweet for me. Sarah didn't die at Easter, but Easter of 2017 is the last vivid memories I have up until … Continue reading The Cup of Salvation →

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28 Just hours after Sarah's death, we as her family sat huddled in the floor of an EMS facility in Fulton County, Georgia, praying Romans 8:28, and … Continue reading WWW Retreats in Botswana →

Tomorrow is the 6th time our family is forced to decide what to do on Sarah's birthday without her, in the middle of our 6th Christmas season without her. Thankfully, her birthday and this Christmas season are not the cutting of new wounds in our hearts, but more like the pressing of a still tender … Continue reading Long and New Sorrow →

Deaths of loved ones, fractured relationships, perceived personal failures, unfulfilled longings, and countless other challenges have many feeling terribly alone this Thanksgiving. For some the isolation will be compounded by physical solitude, and for others it will be compounded by being seated in a crowd of people.  If sadness fills your heart at the thought … Continue reading NOT ALONE →

As Sarah sat in the bus journaling in the moments before she was killed, she journaled her sadness about leaving us for "so long" and countered it by encouraging herself that God had called her there for a reason. Based on that she concluded with confidence: "so I know He's going to do incredible things." … Continue reading More Incredible Things… →

My second born daughter is in labor with our firstborn grandson, so I am awake in the dark of night with eager expectation of meeting this precious new life. As excited as I am about meeting him, I am reminded there is something I am waiting for with even more eager expectation. "For in hope … Continue reading Eagerly Waiting →

September is Suicide Prevention Month, National Suicide Prevention Week is September 4 – 10, and September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day. In the midst of all of the talk of prevention I find myself grieving with and for my precious friend with the approaching anniversary of her beloved son's death by suicide on September … Continue reading Suicide Prevention or Awareness? →