Choosing to go God’s way and staying there. by Eileen Key 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 our nation’s two-hundredth birthday, I wallowed and cried over the demise of my marriage. Dating Terry and I…
Read moreCategory: Home and Family
A Gift of Peace
A father’s trust in his time of trial. by Paul White 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 four-year-old Kristi and I were going camping with my parents. Though Kristi’s mom, Victoria, and I were separated,…
Read moreA Promise Kept
The reward of young faith. by Sarah R. Dace* “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 cubicles in our modern day, one-room schoolhouse, she stopped to tap my ten-year-old brother’s shoulder and whisper in his ear….
Read moreWhat to Do When the Nest is Empty
Finding fulfillment when the kids are gone. by Sharlene MacLaren 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 of parenting. You have changed diapers, wiped noses, and cooled fevered bodies. You have read children’s books until you…
Read moreWhen Our Son Divorced
by Dawn Hamilton* 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 box. He walked slowly with none of his old carefree spirit. My husband and I said little to him as we found the car and headed…
Read moreThanks to Ryan
Special needs are not all physical and emotional. by Lynne Hudak as told to Wendy Lynn Decker “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 going to be sick all over the doctor’s desk. The words dialysis,…
Read moreThe Pain After Reunion
The dynamics of the Second Rejection. by Marcy Wineman Axness 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 overtime mind, clamoring to make sense of it all, to somehow feel sense of it all. Ah, reunion. For…
Read moreSpreading the Flame
New lessons in love the second time around. by Marcia Alice Mitchell “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 taking care of my future kids in the nursery. One of them, Joe, had just shown her…
Read moreSilent Release
Letting go is hard to do. by Rita Platt “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. That moment turned into hours, then weeks, and even months with no communication. To my surprise, the world kept spinning;…
Read moreSomeone Else’s Child
A street-wise teenager enters hearts and home. by Janice Thompson 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, the same rosy complexion, and a sense of humor that rivaled each of our own three daughters. But she…
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