Turkey with gravy. Stuffing. Mashed potatoes. Cranberry sauce. Sweet potato casserole. Pumpkin pie. Autumnal weather. Football. Family. The upcoming Christmas season. These are the things we love about Thanksgiving.
Family strife. Vacant seats at the table. A scarcity where there should be a bounty. The reminders of loneliness and need and grief that loom over the season like foreboding clouds. Black Friday. (more…)
I will never forget the day I learned of my mother’s sudden death. It was in the afternoon as I was heading out the door to go pick up a friend from the airport and then run to my newspaper job for a night shift. There were no cell phones in those days. The airport was almost an hour away. I (more…)
Lately my heart has been weighed down by stories of incredible pain – stories of unthinkable suffering among people throughout Africa, of a family losing three loved ones in rapid succession while dealing with life-threatening health challenges, of a newly adopted baby given little hope of quality of life or even longterm survival, of a mother and toddler both facing cancer.
Each (more…)