Abuse
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…
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…
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…
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…
Not all fathers are easy to honor — on Father’s Day or any other day. One man discovered his desire to punish his father for his abusive behavior didn’t line up with Jesus’ desire for him to forgive.
Fireworks explode all around me tonight. The Nebraska summer air is thickened as thousands of brilliant lights fill the night sky. Despite the excitement, the…
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…
The invitation from Jesus to “Let the little children come to Me” sounds simple, but it wasn’t for one woman whose childhood was marred by sexual abuse. As an adult, she learned how to be a child again in the way that God intended.
“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…
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…
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….
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…
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…
At seven, I walked; at fifteen, I talked; at fifty, I began to live. Everything about my childhood was painful – right from the start….
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,…
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…
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…
Memory lane isn’t always a pleasant place. For those who have suffered abuse in the home, those memories carry over into adulthood. Read the story of a woman who confronted her past with the power of God and found His peace and healing.
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,…
Caregiving
I peeled a potato while Mother watched. “Is this how you do it?” she asked. What was wrong here? Mother, a farmer’s wife, had peeled…
Some people are like a patch of blue sky every day. Their voices soothe secret hurts. Their smiles absorb harsh words. Their touch heals mortal…
Old sayings often speak the truth about life in a sharp and honest manner: “Fish and company stink after three days.” “Houseguests, who stay past…
Shortly after Lee and I were married, he began to lose his balance while walking. Initially, the doctors thought he might have Multiple Sclerosis. They…
In caring for her father and his illness, a woman experiences the daily burden of an adult parent — and God’s provisions to help her survive.
My hand shook as I held the phone. I tried to stand, but collapsed on the chair as my whole body began to shake. I’d…
Mother stopped laughing and placed her bingo card on the table. “Who are you?” she asked as her eyes studied my face. I answered and…
According to the National Alzheimer’s Association, approximately four million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease, and that number will increase to 14 million by the middle of…
“I am so angry. I’m fifty-one years old and my husband, Bill, has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Where do I focus my anger?”…
We were your ordinary family. My husband, Rudy, worked long, hard hours so we could take vacations. My daughter, Allison, enjoyed school and had a…
“C’mon, Tonya, just a few more bites,” I coaxed, trying to catch up to her mouth with the fork as she dodged from side to…
Children
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life” (John…
I just got home from visiting my son — in prison. My wife and I drove the l000 miles one way, hitting the road last…
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…
Last Saturday morning was my turn to call my adopted daughter for our mother-daughter bonding time. After the initial exchange of weekly events, Katie* announced,…
Ten fingers, ten toes. (My husband, Pete, knew; he counted five times.) Feathery soft fuzz atop her head. We’d never seen anything quite like her….
“I have some concerns.” The ultrasound technician finally spoke, breaking a long silence while studying the picture of my wife’s womb. Two heads, four arms…
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit (Psalm 34:18). If you are embroiled in a heart-crushing storm…
“M. . . I’m pregnant.” My twenty-year-old daughter, a junior at a Christian college, spoke in a calm voice, rocking my world and changing it…
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…
Many might say Charlie and I were adventurous that wintry weekend, twenty-four years ago. Others might believe the snowstorm we braved was a precursor to…
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…
You have children, raise them, love them, and prepare them to enter the real world. Easier said than done, according to one mom. Despite knowing these truths, she struggled with the absence of her daughters and letting them make their own decisions. Just as they had a lot to learn about the world, so this mother had a lot to learn from God about the new place she had in their lives.
It’s a tragic problem far too common for women: losing a pre-born baby. One woman cycles through all the emotions after the death of her infant baby girl, and ultimately honors her daughter in a fitting way.
Please be wrong, I begged the pregnancy test. It’s too early! It was my twenty-second birthday, and this was the last present I wanted. Panic…
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 don’t want to influence my children in religion. I want them to make up their own minds.” This philosophy prevails in our society —…
In recent years, an “old original” has made a phenomenal comeback. Home schooling, an educational movement with roots that date to colonial times, remains legal…
I’m not the same person I was eight years ago. That’s when my son with autism, Chad, was born. Although my husband, Wayne, and I…
Fierce wind bowed the tree tops and buffeted the vines that grew against our house. I snuggled in our warm living room and watched Hurricane…
When my wife and I adopted Jay, he was two-and-a-half months old. The only details we knew about his birth parents were some medical specifics…
“Your daughter has a terminal muscle disease. She will never walk or gain strength but will weaken progressively. She has only six months to a…
“I think I know who Kristin’s birth mother is.” These words hurtled at me during a telephone call from my new friend, Pam. My daughter,…
My son Jonathan has a little extra. A little extra enthusiasm, a little extra innocence, a little extra charm. Oh, and did I mention an…
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,…
From the moment of conception, he entered a combat zone, every cell of his body at war with toxic poisons, imperiled by an inadequate supply…
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…
Christianity is a farce, I raged silently as I bent over my little girl’s crib. I watched my exhausted baby sleep — my precious little…
There is something to be said for the realities of the empty nest syndrome and its deep sense of loss. I experienced it and can…
According to the American Heart Association, for every one thousand babies born, eight will have some form of congenital heart defect. That’s approximately thirty-five thousand…
“He’s gone.” On a beautiful fall morning I awoke to words that threw me into a nightmare. My teenage son was gone, missing by choice….
She wasn’t our daughter, though it might have taken more than a quick glance to establish the fact. She bore the same shiny chestnut hair,…
“You’ll never be able to handle three more kids — especially a strong-willed child.” Mary, a woman at church I greatly admired, said this after…
“Ryan has a rare and incurable kidney disease. He’ll need a kidney transplant by the end of the year.” I felt as though I was…
Your phone call takes too long to be returned. Your letter goes unanswered for an unnerving number of weeks. You concoct exaggerated scenes inside your…
Organization and perfectionism ruled my life. Even my relationship with God was compartmentalized. He was in charge of my soul; I was in charge of…
Parents pray to adopt a son they can love, but he isn’t the son they thought he would be. As a mother struggles to love him, she finds new strength in God.
For many, the transition from a full nest to an empty one is difficult. After all, you have spent some twenty years in this business…
When we met our son, Paul, at the airport, he stepped off the plane with all he had left in the world: his old tool…
Home and Family – General
I had no idea such a beautiful weekend could have such horrible consequences. I had been looking forward to the Fourth of July holiday because…
“Sarah, come with me, please.” Mrs. Grant’s face bore the strain I heard in her voice. As I followed her down the row of desk…
It’s something parents and grandparents fear could happen to their children and grandchildren after a severe injury: being paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. When this happened to one woman’s grandson, she learned that even through this difficult struggle, God had a plan.
When a pastor experiences an emotional breakdown, his wife suffers as well. Both discover that God can use them no matter where they are.
I was at fault for losing our home. I spent our mortgage money on frivolous things or on items to spoil my kids, then lied…
I’m no stranger to commercial air travel. I’m not afraid to fly. However, I still listen when the flight attendant says, “Please give us your…
I lay on the sofa in my parent’s den on July 4, 1976, a heap of misery. While the television newscasters showed videos and celebrated…
A job can mean many things for a family, like financial security. But when a woman’s husband leaves an employer, the income from their small business doesn’t stretch far enough to cover the bills. That is, until the wife learns to depend on God to get them through.
Through the icy pane of my kitchen window, I gazed. The poplars stood rigid, their bare, brittle limbs thrust against the chill winter air. Within…
“Sugar and spice and everything nice.” That’s usually what you hear about little girls, but not about Jessica. Her behavior problems almost ruin a relationship until the grandmother learns to love her as Jesus does.
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…
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…
The ring of the phone startled me. I glanced at the caller ID and quickly lifted the receiver. “Hi, Dad. What’s up?” “Suzi, the hospital…
When a near-drowning sends her brother to the hospital, a woman dares to look past the diagnosis to the divine power of God.
Persistent, paralyzing doubt gripped my mind as I agonized in prayer. Lord, is this opportunity to attend college Your desire or my own selfish desire?…
Shame. Fear. Uncertainty. A teenage girl felt all of these, and more, when she became pregnant and was forced to give up her baby for adoption. Later in life, she found more than that baby, now a grown man. She found her Savior.
I always knew I was adopted. My parents broke the news when I was just old enough to understand: “We chose you out of all…
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…
Infertility
This was the day I dreaded most of the year. I almost stayed home. I almost pleaded sickness. I almost rolled over in bed and…
She had nothing that was exclusively hers. She shared her husband with another woman: his name, his love, his bed. She had no children of…
“Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. . . .” It’s such a simple song. I learned it as a…
“Did that question bother you?” Debbie asked. We were studying the biblical story of Hannah, a married woman who for a long time couldn’t conceive….
Infertile couples are everywhere — in our churches, small groups, families, and neighborhoods. In fact, one out of every six couples in America experience infertility….
Marriage
Betrayal. Hurt. Anger. These and other emotions overwhelmed one woman when her husband broke their marriage vows. Thanks to God’s guidance and her obedience, this wife found the freedom of forgiveness and recommitment to love.
I stared at the once-broken flower vase. Careful hands had rearranged the clay pieces and glued them together. Inside a small candle burned; the flame…
When Larry and I had been married seven years, we were completely disillusioned with each other. I couldn’t understand why he didn’t love me anymore….
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….
Why do so many girls immerse themselves in relationships with guys who are not who they really need or even want? How can a guy…
The nightmare was going into phase two. Ed, my 50-year-old husband, was finally going home. The wheelchair, whishing on the wet pavement, seemed to scream…
As we waited in the doctor’s office to find out if my husband’s melanoma (the deadliest kind of skin cancer) had spread, I looked at…
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…
On a Tuesday, my husband of ten years told me (over the phone, mind you) that he no longer loved me and that he wanted…
“You expected me to love you — just for existing.” My soon-to-be ex-husband left me to ponder these words as he walked out the door….
“Hey, how does this one sound, honey? ‘For he is our peace, who hath made both one. . . . ‘” Tripp, my new husband,…
“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…
Marriage is an enormous commitment. After the wedding, when the blush of romance is over, real life sets in. Marriage never fixes problems in a…
When I was born, he was in high school. When I was in kindergarten, he was starting his first real job. My first broken heart…
Where does forgiveness begin and end? When the guilty ask for it? When the one betrayed says they forgive? Are the words enough? Here are…
What if they’re right? I wondered again. Holding the letter in my trembling hand, I was even more unsure of my decision. The elders from…
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…
“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…
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…