Category: Home and Family

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;…

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…

The empty nest and an unprepared parent. by Sharlene MacLaren   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 attest to its validity. My husband and I had successfully raised two wonderful daughters. One had already left “the…

by Brooke Keith   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 babies each year. Sometimes detecting the signs of heart defects in a child can be difficult. Even a doctor may not be able to identify certain…

A brief, struggling life has a lasting impact. by Sondra Brunsting   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 of oxygen and faulty nutrition. His was the womb of compromise, more than a warm cocoon in which…

Giving up what is dearest in life togain what is most important. by Terry Arries   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 girl, Kim, whose hair glinted gold in the sunlight and whose eyes rivaled the…

What a child with Down syndrome has taught his mother. by Barbara Curtis   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 extra chromosome? The one on the twenty-first pair that inspires so much fear in parents-to-be. I…

Gaining more through letting go. by Mary Roedema as told to Sharon M. Knudson   “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, Kristin, had become best friends with Pam’s daughter, and she’d called our house asking for…

by J. Grant Swank, Jr.   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 provided by his birth mother to the social worker. Bringing Jay into our family was such a joy. We were rightly proud the first…

We’re never too old to learn from our children. by Lettie Kirkpatrick Burress   “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 year to live.” This pronouncement came from a doctor on Shela’s first birthday. As it turned…