On a summer day I visit my mother-in-law in the nursing home. I sit beside her on the bed, holding the vanilla milkshake I’ve brought…
Desperate for more of God, I had looked forward to Bible camp for weeks. But I’d begun to feel as if I’d come to a…
A wave of nausea swept over me as I prepared breakfast. Simultaneously, a troubling thought soared through my brain. I couldn’t be pregnant! Not now…
The telephone call came on a Friday afternoon — the call that changed our family’s future. The caller identified himself as Dr. Combs.* Why would…
The rage in her eyes skewered me to the floor like a dagger. “No, Mommy, no!” I screamed, my shaking hands covering my bottom. Undeterred,…
I was on an imaginary “walk in the garden” with six other women. We were told to close our eyes and imagine birds singing and…
Sexual abuse is widespread. Some estimate that as many as a third of all girls are molested. And it’s damaging; it brings physical, emotional, and…
The day started off like any normal day for me. I met my husband, Jerry,* at our favorite restaurant for lunch. We discussed the children’s…
Childhelp – IOS Soresters National Child Abuse Hotline 1/800-4-A-CHILD This organization is in the fight against child abuse and neglect. Child SHARE Joanne Feldmeth, Executive…
The Wounded Heart, by Dan B. Allender Door of Hope: Recognizing and Resolving the Pains of Your Past, by Jan Frank No Place to Cry,…
Brandon was born healthy and normal on August 27, 1992. When he was five weeks old, his biological father shook him hard enough that his…
Angry, rebellious, and bitter. I hated my husband. I hated my job. I hated people. But most of all, I hated God. I teetered on…
Raging with anger, I struck fiercely at my small daughter. She cringed in terror from the blows. Suddenly, I stopped and looked in horror at…
Norm seemed like such a nice guy when we dated. He had a great sense of humor, and we laughed a lot. We went to…
“Stop squirming! Hold still while I tie your shoe.” Whack! The frustrated mother slapped the four-year-old across the face. Then she twisted his arm for…
I was twenty when it happened. One evening I was washing dishes in the kitchen sink. The sound of the television in the living room…
Contact by phone National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE National Coalition Against Domestic Violence: 303-839-1852 Northwest Family Life Learning & Counseling Center: 206-363-9601* Center for the…
When Nita moved in across the street, Susan was delighted to find that her new neighbor was also a full-time mom. Over time their friendship…
You can have the kind of change Don Cox experienced by confessing the sins that often overtake you and placing your full trust in Jesus…
In my home, I was the king; my family members were the peasants. At least that was the way I saw things. Whenever there was…
Sixteen-year-old Angela struggled to find the chord among the piano keys. She pressed a combination. The sound made me cringe. “It’s okay,” I assured her….
Do you long to feel more of some emotions, yet fear that certain feelings will stir up too much pain? Are you struggling with painful…
Relieved, I watched the counselor gather his papers without asking me that dreaded question. Then, as if an afterthought, he asked, “Oh, was there any…
On a concrete bench in a mausoleum courtyard, I tried to muster courage. Shaking my fist at the foliage, I said, “I’m not leaving until…
My earliest memory is being struck in the head with the butt of a rifle. It was my fourth birthday. My older sister, jealous of…
I often recommend the Web sites of my articles: “Feelings, Forgiveness, and Peace” and “Moving On From the Past”: www.christianwomentoday.com/parenting/feelings.html www.christianwomentoday.com/closet/movingpast.html Accept Jesus Christ as…
My dedicated Christian friend, Melissa*, told me, “The memory of that awful experience when I was four has been indelibly seared into my mind; I…
Remember the H1N1 flu virus that President Barack Obama called a national emergency in the fall of 2009? Once 1,000 people died from the disease,…
A sunny redhead, an honor student: Not the type of girl you’d expect to see lying still and pale in a coroner’s room. But on…
This life, even at its best, provides a barrage of signals and experiences that tend to tear us down. Sometimes destructive communication comes from those…
At seven, I walked; at fifteen, I talked; at fifty, I began to live. Everything about my childhood was painful – right from the start….
My wife, Jane, rings at 6:00 p.m. “Will you be home for dinner?” Frustration is in her voice. “Twenty minutes, I promise,” I tell her….
Workaholics Anonymous Book of Recovery (first edition), WA World Services Organization, 2009. Workaholics Book of Discovery: A Guide to 12 Step Writing and Reflection WA…
My lips trembled as I stared into the deep end of the indoor swimming pool. It was inches from my face; I could smell the…
“Right, two, three, four; left, two, three, four,” the step aerobics instructor counted. “Keep those hands moving in unison with your feet.” The feeling of…
Never have I considered myself a gullible person. When I held a top executive position in business, I readily recognized the difference between ethical and…
The strength and stamina I used to have are diminishing. This may be a result of simply passing the age of 50 or of the…
“Have you ever heard of multiple myeloma?” My doctor sat across from me in the examining room, relaxed and smiling. She could have been telling…
A month after my near-fatal, one-car accident in early 1990, I first began to understand what had landed me in a large trauma hospital. I…
“Mom, my shoulder hurts again,” Danny, our ten-year-old son, announced. Our packed suitcases waited by the door. Crossing things off my “to do” list, I…
Diabetes Resources The Diabetic Youth Foundation offers year-round programs and summer camps for kids: www.dyf.org Participation in studies is a great way to receive support…
Read more about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effects Dorris, Michael. “The Gift Abel Gave Us.” Parents, Vol. 67, pp. 216-17. Eastman, N. J….
Michael Dorris wanted to be a father, but he lacked a partner. Did this stop him? No; Dorris decided to adopt. His decision came at…
A slight chill hung in the April air as my cousin, Cindy, and I settled into the back seat of the Dodge Neon and positioned…
I had the same aspirations many women share of getting married to the perfect man and living happily ever after. On Valentine’s Day evening, 1997,…
A pivotal event is one that defines everything before and after it. A chance meeting, a phone call, a quick decision can be a turning…
Jack and Jill went up the hill To fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down And broke his crown And Jill came tumbling after….
June 2, 2009. Two packed suitcases and two carry-ons waited near the door. I’d checked our tickets at least a dozen times and wanted to…
“Lord Jesus, save me!” I screamed as I plunged forty feet off the cliff toward the rocky ground below. Friends and youth leaders looked on…
I’m glad I found out in the summer. I wore sunglasses a lot and could cry without being noticed. I would go on my daily…
Born in Leeds, England, with the umbilical cord wrapped around my neck, I had, to put it mildly, a less-than-ideal start to life. In those…
“We will find out what is wrong with you,” the doctor said with confidence, “but you won’t like it.” His words replayed in my mind…
I was sitting in my doctor’s office waiting for results from routine blood work. My primary care doctor came into the room, sat down at…
The images on the television screen sprang to life, jerking me back to another place and time. Fourteen years fell away as I saw myself…
Mark O’Brien depends on an iron lung for breathing, which he has done for 42 years. Yet while restricted to his apartment most of the…
Footnotes Roberts, Alison, The Sacramento Bee “Breathing Lessons,” March 14, 1997 Boller, Paul F., Jr. Presidential Anecdotes, (Penguin Books: Kingsport, Tennessee, 1981), p. 266 “Thomas…
I pulled off the freeway when my buzzing phone showed the medical clinic’s ID. Probably last-minute information about Thursday’s surgery. “Your recent mammogram shows suspicious…
I awoke from a deep coma to the gray, filtered light of a strange room. Tubes and machines surrounded my body. I was semi-paralyzed on…
“What do I think about a cure?” I repeated into the receiver. I powered my wheelchair closer. “Cure of what?” My speaker phone rattled a…
Two years ago, I wouldn’t have thought I could learn anything significant about prayer. I had been a Christian for many years. What more could…
“Take Caleb to a nutritionist. I don’t like that recurring rash on his face.” Alarm flickered in my heart. My ex-husband is a registered nurse,…
Biopsy? No, I could not have heard that word. Surely I had misunderstood. The doctor directed my attention to the screen before me and traced…
Born with a severe disability called Arthrogryposis, Multiplex Congenita, I have less than 3 percent use of my left arm and less than 7 percent…
“I’m afraid there is no cure. We can only treat the symptoms,” Dr. Price explained, almost apologetically. Speechless, I lingered over her words, struggling to…
Early one February morning I awoke with a slight dizzy spell. In the pre-dawn darkness, I steadied myself against the wall and made my way…
What threw me most about my cancer diagnosis was the timing. I know — there are many reasons to go into a tailspin when you’re…
Resources Though these resources are in Idaho, plenty of similar organizations are throughout the nation. Be sure to search your particular state’s Parks and Recreation…
I sit in another office with cool, “restful” colored paint, muted lighting, and nondescript art on the walls. A desk, bookshelf full of books, chairs…
My three-year-old’s voice became increasingly louder. “But why, Mom?!” he repeatedly asked, though I told him to pick only six books — the limit we…
I was heading to the bookstore to do some writing when indigestion reminded me that I had forgotten my heartburn medicine. I can’t go to…
In February 2001, when my wife was four months pregnant, our obstetrician, Dr. Robert Olson, delivered alarming news: “Based on previous blood tests, there is…
“I love seeing you on Facebook, Jamie,” I said to our friend’s daughter. “But it’s pretty addicting, and I might have to get off of…
A sharp pain jarred me awake at 4 a.m. Rubbing my large belly, I urged my unborn son, “Settle down in there.” I breathed deeply,…
Resources Graham’s Foundation (www.grahamsfoundation.org): blogs, book recommendations, remembrances, etc. Empowered Preemie Moms: From NICU, to Newborn, and Beyond by Dr. Shaana Berman (February 27, 2013). Available…
“Diane, Michael’s mom is here to see you,” the school secretary said, interrupting my kindergarten classroom one Monday morning. I turned and looked at the…
One starry night many years ago — more years than I care to remember — I found God. Or maybe God found me. Traumatic events…
Life so far had gone as we’d planned. We had a cozy little home, satisfying careers, and an amiable network of family and friends. Anchored…
As the woman walked into the room, eyes puffy from crying, my normally chatty group of friends fell into a deafening silence. Glances were averted,…
I am no hero. I am just an ordinary woman who did what an ordinary person would do in a difficult time. You won’t find…
I come to the garden alone While the dew is still on the roses . . . I thrust my trembling fingers hard against my…
It was done. The preparations were finished. The responses were in, the wedding dress had been tailored for the last time, the flowers had been…
Choosing a future spouse is one of the most important decisions we will face. Consider the well-known phrase included in most marriage vows: “Till death…
“I can’t forgive them!” I cried out to God. “They ruined my life!” I was really saying, “I refuse to forgive them” — my ex-husband…
Shoving my sermon notes aside, I reached for the phone with a sigh. Seems like its cue to ring is linked to my quiet time….
kidstogether.org: inclusion of persons with disabilities wrightslaw.com: special education law ds-health.com: Down syndrome and related health issues woodbinehouse.com: Special Needs Collection of books about various…
The essay “Welcome to Holland,” by Emily Perl Kingsley, is familiar to many parents of children with disabilities, especially children with Down syndrome. The piece…
“First stop, Mississippi!” I adjusted my rear-view mirror and backed out of my driveway. “Let’s listen to Harps and Halos first.” I handed Jessica the…
Silent No More (silentnomoreawareness.org) is an international organization that holds events, provides local support groups, and offers articles and testimonies for encouragement and education. Any…
The summer after I’d graduated from high school, I realized I was pregnant by my on-and-off-again boyfriend of the previous three years. The doctor advised…
Many women who have had abortions anonymously post their regrets online, often years later — like one who named her aborted baby Faith because the…
Stars didn’t sparkle in the night, and a limousine didn’t pick us up, but Eileen and I were dressed as though we were on our…
There are times when silence is golden, when we are at a loss for words because, simply, any word chosen would be grossly inappropriate. Often…
I knew this birthday would be special. My daughter, Kristi, lived 1,600 miles away and was coming home for the weekend. My son, Matt, had…
Help for Depression Many excellent resources are available in your community and on the Internet. Dr. Ivan Goldberg has a questionnaire to determine if you…
“Stop treating me like a two-year-old!” Michael hissed. “Sorry!” I spat back. My husband and I finished getting ready for bed in silence. How many…
They persistently showed up every Tuesday, knocking on my door with an uncanny ability to appear immediately after my daughter went down for her nap….
Hands upraised, our minister urged his congregation to pray: “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek…
There was a time when I wouldn’t miss a church service. During my marriage, I was a stay-at-home mom who thought I loved the Lord…
Self Talk, Soul Talk: What to Say When You Talk to Yourself, by Jennifer Rothschild: www.jenniferrothschild.com/index.html Me, Myself and Lies: A Thought-Closet Makeover (Bible study…
He’s about to die — and it’s my fault. I hung up the phone and shut my eyes. My face burned and jaw clenched hard…