& seeking to walk in His ways ~ Joshua 22:5
Timewise I've really only just begun this painful journey of deep grief, but I've already learned a number of significant lessons. I'm sharing some here both for future reference for myself, and in hopes that they might be helpful to others walking alongside grieving friends. I dislike the ever popular lists of "15 things you … Continue reading Helping Your Grieving Friend
"My soul waits for the Lord More than the watchmen for the morning; Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning." Psalm 130:6 [NASB] It happened again in the depths of the darkness last night. Exactly the same as it has happened almost nightly for over six months now. Six months, not seven, because I … Continue reading Morning is Coming
"Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. "He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him. "So let us know, let us press … Continue reading Rains of Refreshing
"A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." Proverbs 17:22 [ESV] Our home has always been one characterized by joy and laughter. We find humor in almost everything, and we delight greatly in evoking laughter in one another. The day of the accident I promised Katelyn, Kristen and Sophie … Continue reading Laughter in the Valley
Within days of Sarah leaving, we as a family began dreading the upcoming Christmas season. We were certain it, combined with Sarah's December 20th birthday, would be filled with devastatingly hard days. In the months leading up to December we tried to come up with a strategy to somehow reduce the pain of those days, … Continue reading Moment by Moment
Why has my pain been perpetual And my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Will You indeed be to me like a deceptive stream With water that is unreliable? Therefore, thus says the LORD, "If you return, then I will restore you-- Before Me you will stand; And if you extract the precious from the … Continue reading Extracting the Precious
"Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world." John 16:21 [NASB] December 20th, 1999, was a day marked by intense pain followed by … Continue reading A Mother’s Pain
'Twas the night before Christmas when glad tidings abound. But for the weary and brokenhearted it seems little rest to be found. Memories of Christmases past bittersweet flashes of years Crying, "how long will this last?" heartache spills out as tears. 'Twas also a dark night long ago, when hopelessness did abound. Many searching for … Continue reading A Brokenhearted Night Before Christmas
Merriam Webster Definition of Merry 1 archaic : giving pleasure : delightful 2: full of gaiety or high spirits : mirthful 3: marked by festivity or gaiety It wasn't long at all after the accident that Katelyn, Kristen and Sophie voiced they wanted to go away over Christmas. They couldn't bear the thought of being at … Continue reading Not so Merry Christmas
A couple of months after Sarah's departure I had the opportunity to visit with a friend I had not spent time with for several months. I was sharing with her some of our experiences surrounding the accident and in the process had a very candid moment in which I said that I would welcome death. … Continue reading Longing to Die
Listening to Him 