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
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 moved this past weekend. I am officially connected to the internet, so for me, it means I’m settled. Therefore, instead of unpacking a few more boxes, I’m sitting at the computer getting my writing therapy fix. When you move you make choices. You can just take it all and go through it at the … More The picture under the picture
I’ve moved a lot in my life and am a strong advocate for cleaning BEFORE you move. So, as I work to get myself ready for the next move, I spent some time cleaning out my desk. I started with my card collection–a jumbled mix of birthday, sympathy and other assorted card genres, many of … More A Life in Passports
History is full of well-known names, many times not because of something they did or accomplished, but because their name is on a physical place or building: Alexandria Library, Marshall Islands, JFK International Airport, Martin Luther King, Jr, Drive, Louis Armstrong Stadium, etc. How many children can tell you anything about the person behind the … More Naming Rights
To go through a new door, one must close another — this is one of the bittersweet parts of the grief journey. I’m trying a new approach though…keeping the door of the past open at least vicariously through my children! I know, it’s cheating, but at least it helped me get through what is a … More Doors
Tonight I looked at a stage where I stood, almost three years ago to the day, speaking to a group of women about how to reach Muslim women for Christ. I remember being nervous, because Raouf was with me — and not speaking — and I was always a bit intimidated by his presence. However, … More Two Timothies
I never know when it will happen, but more often than not, it comes when someone speaks of the impact of his words on their life. It was a typical, crazy Monday at work. I had been running in every kind of direction at the library, but we had a meeting scheduled during my lunch … More I Must Decrease
Written: Oct. 24, 2016 Once again, God allowed a grief moment to be enveloped in a joy moment. It’s really been amazing how many times the joy of new babies coming into this world have surrounded the loss of Raouf in this past year. Even just the day before he passed away, we were greeted … More The Sting is Gone
Written: Oct. 15, 2016 It is amazing what can be in your house that you never notice…Raouf had laminated a small piece of paper and stuck it in the frame of his seminary diploma. Trust me, I have never paid any attention to it. It is written in his “not very illegible” Arabic handwriting. This … More The Note