It took me years to realize I had been duped. While I’m fairly confident it wasn’t on purpose, this catchy Christian cliche, “God won’t give you more than you can handle,” had butted against my reality for seemingly my whole life. But professing Christians said it, so it must be true. Right? It wasn’t until I started studying scripture on […]

On April 16, 2009, we celebrated our daughter’s first birthday with a ladybug cake. A few days later, her pediatrician called, explaining that her hemoglobin levels came back “dangerously low” from a routine well-child check. He told us to pack a bag and head to Wichita to the hospital. By the time we were dismissed from that first stay, our […]

On Feb. 12 it snowed. And not just a wimpy snow. An actual good snow. A snow where you could go outside and play. Make a snowman. Make a snow fort. Have a snowball fight. Fall on your belly and not break your teeth. I love snow and have been impatiently waiting all winter for decent accumulation. I know there […]

Things I’ve learned from my adoption “What do I have to be thankful for? My own dad didn’t want me.” Thanksgiving was creeping closer, and I had just unleashed that question on a group of high school freshmen I thought to be my friends. If I recall correctly, it was the first time I voiced that inner turmoil. My biological […]

It was a dark, early morning. The sun remained asleep and yet people streamed quietly from the warmth of vehicles into the crisp winter air, up a set of stairs and into church. The flood of light accompanying the swing of the doors teased the yet-night sky. Though pulled from my bed before the normal hour, my eyes were bright […]

“Healing is not the absence of pain,” writes Lora Jones in her book “Song of a Wounded Heart.” While her book wasn’t the first time I’d heard this concept, reading it recently helped me gain a focus for this month’s column. Lately I’ve been thinking about grief. I actually just finished writing a series on my blog focused on church […]

A few weeks ago at a Bible study I attend, the leader gave us a series of ice breaker questions to answer as a kick-off to our fall study. One particular section of the questionnaire asked us to describe something we were afraid of and something we were not afraid of. I got a little hung up on the answers. […]

The day was hot. Sweat crept down the back of my neck as I trudged behind my mom, one step and then another. We made our way down a street, also hot and lined with makeshift storefronts. My feet didn’t want to move and my legs hurt. I was tired of walking. Tired of shopping. I don’t remember voicing my […]

I watched my youngest pull himself up the diving board ladder. He confidently walked along the board protected by the rail and then slowed. I could tell he was tempted to turn back as he had before, but mixed in was a determination I hadn’t seen on previous attempts. He left the security of the rails, made his way to […]

I took a breath as I flipped the calendar to July. Normally that particular flip is met with an inhale and exhale of relief. In the past, July has meant a return to a slowed-down pace I delight in and look forward to. This year my breath was shaky and shallow. Anxious. A little uptight. I looked below my kids’ […]