51 results for tag: Holidays

Sharing His Love on Mother’s Day

The weightiness of Mother’s Day was lost on me until I lost my son. I never considered how hard the day could be for those that longed for a child but experienced infertility. I never gave thought to how those that no longer had their child to hold might feel forgotten. The first Mother’s Day after my son passed away was incredibly heavy. It had only been two weeks since we had laid him to rest, and I was emotionally and physically exhausted. From the moment the sun began to shine through my windows that morning, I wanted the day to be over. I felt like a shell of a mother, and the last thing I wanted to do was surround myself with others ...

Unspeakable Joy on Mother’s Day

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 Joy—unspeakable joy—is one of the many emotions I experience each year as Mother’s Day makes its appearance. Joy that is intermingled with pain, happiness, grief, hope, anger, and thankfulness. Mother’s Day is a sweet reminder of the blessings the Lord has bestowed upon me and my family, but it is also a day that is shadowed by loss. I have five beautiful children that are earth-side with me, and I have one beautiful little girl on the other side of glory. This will be my fourth ...

20 Truths to Know about Jesus’ Triumph

In “One Unique Death Proclaimed,” posted on Good Friday, I write that Jesus does not brush past me in grief or scurry my wounds to patched-up, peripheral healing. Rather, Jesus addresses the core of my pain. Today, on Easter Sunday, I want to expound via twenty truths about Jesus’ triumph over sin and death:  Death affects all mankind, so we are wise to study in Scripture how it originated, what implications it has upon this present life, and what happens following it: “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart&#...

One Unique Death Proclaimed

The kind people at my home church would have been able to tell you that I cried through nearly every service—that is, every service I had the physical strength to last through—for weeks after our daughter went to glory. A HOME THROUGH SONG At the mention of heaven, the sound of “weary” or “grief” amplified by the church’s speakers, or the proclamation of Christ’s triumph over death: tears. I sobbed listening to this stanza¹: When we arrive at eternity’s shore Where death is just a memory and tears are no more We’ll enter in as the wedding bells ring Your bride will come together and we’ll sing You’re ...

Together Before the Throne

It was early in the afternoon on a Friday in January. I was sitting in the waiting room at the doctor’s office waiting for a quick ultrasound of the precious babe I was carrying. At my previous appointment I had measured a few weeks ahead of schedule, so my midwife wanted to verify that the due date I had been given was accurate. I didn’t mind at all. I would always welcome another opportunity to see this tiny child of mine. But as soon as I was called back and my baby appeared on the monitor, everything changed. My dreams for the future vanished beneath the deafening silence of a still heart. Later that afternoon, with swollen eyes and a broken ...

Resolved to Hope

Tomorrow we will wake to the start of a brand new year. New Years is accompanied by the idea of a fresh start. We make lists of the ways we’d like to grow or change, and make plans to implement new habits, learn new skills, or embrace new experiences. Often, these resolutions are driven by a desire for self-improvement. But what if this year we allowed our resolutions to be rooted in a deep desire to exalt Christ? What if we welcomed 2019 with a resolve to anchor our hope in the Lord and magnify His name through our grief? There is no circumstance in life in which placing your hope in Christ is not relevant. There is no valley so low that His ...

Our Hope This Christmas

The people of Israel were waiting for the coming of the promised Messiah. They were living under the threat of the Assyrians, who would later bring the northern kingdom of Israel into captivity, when the prophet Isaiah delivered news of a child who would come to dissipate the darkness and redeem the world from sin. This birth announcement was a glimmer of hope in the midst of the fear and sorrow. “For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6 We live in the space between the ...

Advent: The Gift of Love

I was eight and a half months pregnant that first Christmas in my grief. Just four months before, we had received a diagnosis for our unborn son that left us knowing that, barring a miracle from God, we’d be saying goodbye to him way sooner than we ever imagined. There was something so significant that year about being pregnant at Christmastime.  I had low energy, both physically and emotionally, and so in some ways Christmas became a little bit simpler. But, honestly, it became a little bit more meaningful too. I would go about my days, obviously with child, and I would think about what we were about to celebrate: Christmas. The birth of ...

Advent: He is Joy

I have to admit that writing about joy in this Advent season feels deeply bittersweet for me. Two years ago, when I was anxiously awaiting the birth of my firstborn son, Max, my church asked me to write a personal Advent piece also centered on joy. At that time, I talked about choosing to find joy in Max’s Down syndrome diagnosis. I reveled in the parallel between awaiting the birth of our Lord Jesus and that of Max. I wrote, “Spencer and I are filled with joy as we anticipate the arrival of our baby who we know will change our lives. And as we wait for Max, we also celebrate the Advent, and wait with great joy and anticipation for the ...

Advent: Perfect Peace

Peace. What comes to your mind when you think of this word? A solitary lounge chair on a white sandy beach under a palm tree, the waves quietly lapping the shore? A hammock gently swaying in the breeze beside a still lake with a good book? The quiet of a winter forest, boughs drooping under the weight of silent white snow? Or does peace mean something more abstract and personal? Webster defines peace as: a state of tranquility or quiet. freedom from disquieting or oppressive thoughts or emotions. harmony in personal relations But what if our circumstances are tragic and chaotic, and we are overcome with heartbreak and sorrow? We each have ...