“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…
Children are a blessing of the Lord, the Bible says. But some women don’t have the privilege of enjoying that blessing, for one reason or another. For one woman, the blessing of a baby came in a way she never expected.
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…
“Mom. . . 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…
Pregnancy can bring not just physical pain to a woman but emotional pain as well. Through time in nature and God’s help in prayer, one woman overcame her anxieties and self-doubt about becoming a mother.
“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…