Last weekend, I gathered with friends to celebrate. We rejoiced with a beautiful young woman, her husband, and family. The couple waited for years for God to bless them with a child. Those years were filled with many ups and downs, with heartache, but also, with hope. Recently, they received word that a precious baby […]
When Resolution Comes
In recent weeks, several situations that have been hanging in suspended motion have reached resolution. One of these, business-related, totally halted forward motion, sidelining me in limbo-land for almost a year. Another precipitated a total standstill because I simply didn’t know how to proceed. Now, with positive answers, that came not of my own volition, […]
Closing Life Chapters and Opening New Ones
This week, my son announced the upcoming closure of his recording studio, which has been his passion and full-time job for almost ten years. Although he told me this was a possibility, I wasn’t expecting the announcement to come so soon. In some ways, I’m sad, but I know his decision is God-led, therefore, I […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]