Living in Limbo

Limbo: noun, an intermediate or transitional place or state: a state of uncertainty. Do you ever feel you are living in limbo? I do. Since Jim’s death, the adjustment to a new normal, combined with various other situations leave me with a sense of uncertainty and unfinishedness. One small hitch has probate in limbo. One […]

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A Season of Brown

Last week, my husband and I went to the mountains for several days, an early celebration of our 43rd anniversary. On the way, I mentioned that this fall has been a season of brown, a hot, late fall with scant color. Sometimes life feels brown, times when everything seems drab and colorless, without vitality or […]

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Overlapping Seasons

Thus far, this has been a year of overlapping seasons. Winter never fully took hold before warm temperatures encouraged a premature spring. The colors of fall hung on amid the budding trees and greening grass. Then, winter returned, with temperatures below freezing. At times, we experience overlapping life seasons. We hardly complete the handling of […]

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On Waiting Well

  I am experiencing a time of waiting—for my foot to heal, for the day I can drive again, for the return of writing inspiration, and waiting bedside with a loved one, who is hovering between earth and eternity. I should be able to wait well. After all, I wrote a book on life pauses […]

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Following and Fulfilling Your Dreams

Last weekend, I taught at a writing conference. Conferees, clutching their proposals, streamed into the appointment room. Some slid in the door and plastered themselves against the wall. Others danced in, anticipation and excitement apparent on their faces. Still others bounced from one appointment table to the next like a pinball hitting obstacles, searching for […]

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Life in a Holding Pattern

Last weekend, we enjoyed a quick trip to the beach. It was great to spend time with family and relax a little, but road construction made the trip there and back slow. While creeping along at 3 mph or sitting in a parking lot of traffic, I thought about how we often experience similar slowdowns […]

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The Fine Art of Waiting

How do you handle waiting? With impatience, anger, frustration? Or have you seen the benefits in waiting so approach it with an attitude of expectancy and learning. Like most life challenges, learning to wait well is a fine art that requires discipline, skill, and patience. If you’re like me, you don’t want to slow down […]

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The Emotions Inherent in Life Pauses

Emotions are God-given and part of our humanness. They serve an important purpose by allowing us to express feelings and release tensions. Sometimes, we avoid emotions, suppressing them until we can experience them at a more convenient time. But often that moment never comes and those squelched emotions bubble to the surface unexpectedly and in […]

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Waiting When Others Aren’t

Each year, with the approach of Mother’s Day, I’m reminded of the waiting journey my mother and I had in common, infertility. My parents were married for ten years before I was born. My husband and I were married almost six years before our daughter was born. One of the hardest parts of waiting for […]

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Navigating Life Pauses

Several years ago, my husband and I experienced one of those life pauses that materialize when least expected. It came with a second job loss in less than a year in a topsy-turvy economy. The first loss felt like a hiccup. The second was more significant. As weeks lengthened into months with minimal prospects and […]

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