January 1, has long been a bittersweet day for me, as it marks the day of my mother’s death. I was in Beirut, Lebanon, when I got the call from my brother, Joe, to tell me she was gone. I didn’t make it back for her funeral, as there was no American embassy in Beirut … More A Mother’s Legacy
It’s easy to get into a slump during the holidays. So many things bring it on — a death of a loved one, another anniversary of that loss, a child marrying and beginning their own traditions, a move, a…well, you fill in the blank. My list could go on forever it seems. Why do holidays … More Remembering the Reason for the Season
As I sit here on a beautiful November day, remembering the same sunny weather on the day he left us two years ago, I cannot help but thank God for the man I loved. I like to remember his words, so I pulled this from the book I wrote on his life this past year: A … More Remembering the man
I have loved being the mother of boys. My sister had three girls, and I spent my high school and college years babysitting them and watching them grow. Boys are easier…just have to say. After we had our second son, friends all over the Middle East encouraged us to go for a third, so we’d … More The Other Woman
Jesus went all the way back to the beginning when he said, For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man [or mother] not separate. There is one thing when you leave your parents and cleave to your spouse, … More Watching from afar
We’ve made the list and checked it more than twice. Nothing can get forgotten, since the wedding is not here but there. My eldest son is getting married. I’m the mother of the groom. So, here he was on a video call asking me what he’d forgotten, as if I would know what he’d need … More The ring on the chain
Today is the day he was born. It marks him. It is his day in history…but he’s not here to enjoy it. What do you do with the birthday of the one you loved and lost? Let it slip quietly by? Make a big deal out of it? Let grief overwhelm you? Or, just be … More Always His Day
I was cleaning out a drawer of placemats today when I came across the gem in the picture. I made it for David when he was a toddler, so that he could begin to recognize family members who were on the other side of the ocean. This is pre-Skype and FaceTime, so we actually had … More We are Family
I am used to making trips to the airport. I have done it all my life. Yesterday, I made two–one was at 8:30 in the morning, and the second was at 10:30 at night. Both related to my children. I realized as I faced this sign for a second time in 24 hours that I … More We did it to ourselves
My youngest son leaves tomorrow to travel to the other side of the world, and I find the thing that upsets me most–more than the suicide attacks and strife “over there”–is the IT system crash of British Airways. Really? Does it have to happen the day before he travels out, Lord? Yet, as he walks … More In His Hands