For as long as I can remember, I’ve struggled with the burden of longing for the next season—eyes set on the next shiny milestone—while being told not to miss a single second of the one I’m in.  As a sixteen-year-old girl, I romanticized the idea of going off to college and living out my grown-up […]

It’s Christmas morning in the early 2000s. Rainbow lights tucked between evergreen branches twinkle above me. Shredded gift wrap litters the floor like candy wrappers. Steven Curtis Chapman sings softly from our CD player. Out of nowhere, it strikes. A painful ping in my chest accompanied by an unwelcome thought. This will be over soon. […]

A friend and I squeezed in one precious hour together the week after Christmas last year. They had gotten a bouncy house that fit perfectly in their garage—an ideal gift for all our energetic children. While the big ones bounced and the babies snacked, my friend and I dove deep. What have you been reflecting […]

Nothing prepared me for the shock of that day in the exam room and the sting of the words, “No heartbeat detected.” In that moment, my husband and I went from overjoyed to utter anguish. We thought our prayers had been answered after years of infertility. But just as quickly as God gave, I was […]

Looking back over three decades of diapers, playdates, carpools, music lessons, and sports events, I realize that motherhood is a lot of ordinary days interrupted by unparalleled joys and sprinkled with unwanted sorrows. Some of those sorrows run deep. If you have a child who, by words or deeds, refuses to acknowledge Jesus as Savior […]