Grief is funny that way. Though at times the overwhelming sorrow chokes my next breath, the gladness of grief appears in the sweetest memories. Which if not for grief, would slip quietly away, unnoticed. Binding happier times within our hearts, grief’s work over time, secures healing through the very moments which seem lost forever. Yes, with the passing of time…
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The Gladness of Grief
Cultivating Hope in the New Year
Not everyone faces the New Year with Hope. While many hold excitement for the fresh start, others dread yet another year, or glad to exit a disappointing year, face the new one with benign indifference. Making space for cultivating hope in the new year shifts our perspective from one of bleakness to one of positive expectation. Our view of the…
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A New Year: A Book of Blank Pages
Both Ernest Hemingway and John Steinbeck found the blank page their most feared enemy. I suppose many people find facing a new year, as a blank book of pages before them equally as frightening. While I heartily agree with Hemingway and Steinbeck from a writer’s point of view, I hold mixed feelings at best, standing on the threshold of a…
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Receiving the Gift of Resilience
Receiving the gift of Resilience through my One Word 2022 journey took every bit of the twelve-month adventure. While choosing a word companion each new year provides a singular focus within the events of that year, interestingly, the idea of Resilience met me in the form of a rebuke. I remember asking, “Why the continual setbacks? Why the silence, God?…
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Advent Waiting in All Things
Although much improved over the years, waiting is not something I do well. While waiting often holds eager anticipation for a soon happening event, it also carries a negativity of delayed gratification. Even worse, it sometimes shrouds uncertainty in the desired outcome happening at all. But Advent waiting revealed a valuable truth to me applicable for all things. Waiting well…
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My Soul in Stillness Waits
In this busiest of seasons, resting in an Advent practice often feels like a battle. Pursuing quiet moments preparing my heart for the wonder of the Greatest Gift, invites me deeper into God’s Presence. As my soul in stillness waits in grief filled moments for the Joy and Peace of a Savior to make all things new, (Revelation 21:5) I…
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Beholding the Gift of the Messiah
Renewing my Advent tradition roughly five years ago after several years away from the practice, truly infused delight into my holiday preparations. Though a repetitious practice in some ways, each year revealed new aspects for me. At the start of this year’s Advent, beholding the gift of the Messiah became my focus. Prophecy not only foretells His coming, but it…
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Advent’s Invitation to Stillness
Gazing up at a star filled sky, I linger in the stillness of the moment. In the hushed darkness, transfixed, the stars seem almost to dance. My mind shifts to a night long ago, when one lonely star spoke the most magnificent of invitations. Advent’s invitation to stillness whispers the same petition: Stop, Listen, and Behold. Inviting us into a…
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Overcoming Rejection with Belonging
“You are mine.” Though reading those words from Isaiah 43:1 on many previous occasions, suddenly they melted into my wounded heart like a healing balm. The sting of rejection still fresh in my mind, the Lord drew me into a place of comfort and belonging. Over the coming days, the words of Isaiah 43:1 led me on a journey of…
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