My Marriage: Twenty Five Years on the Anvil of Time

My Marriage: Twenty Five Years on the Anvil of Time

Marriage puts our character on the anvil of time. Our impurities are revealed then burned up and beaten out until we are sharp and strong. Only then do we understand the hard and humbling aspects of marriage are forging something infinitely greater than two separate people.

Pushing Past Hurts to Build Deep Relationships

Pushing Past Hurts to Build Deep Relationships

You’ve probably heard this quote by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf: “If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.” Many of us dream of having great relationships with a spouse, children, co-workers, neighbors, friends or extended family. Even self-professed...
The “Mundane” Things in Marriage Make or Break It

The “Mundane” Things in Marriage Make or Break It

I could spit on every romance novel I read as a teenager. They deluded me into thinking that marriage was one, long romantic adventure. What a crock. I’m not down on marriage. I endured four difficult years of separation because I believe so profoundly in marriage....
The Never-Ending Process of Mourning

The Never-Ending Process of Mourning

I was cleaning out a closet in my house when I pulled out a tub of crocheted items and felt a lump lodge in my throat. My father—who would have turned 70 this week but succumbed to pancreatic cancer in 2004—had made the items for me and my daughters during my...
Dishtowels and the Aware-mess of Being Imperfect

Dishtowels and the Aware-mess of Being Imperfect

This morning I washed the last breakfast plate clean, set it into the dish drainer, and burst into tears. My life was kinda like that movie Crash when everything comes together just so as to cause this major collision. First, my husband and I—separated for almost four...
A Fish ’n’ Loaf Faith

A Fish ’n’ Loaf Faith

I can be such a twit. I imagine Jesus shaking his head and sighing deeply over me just like he did with the Pharisees and even his own disciples (Mark 8:11-21). They just didn’t get it. About 15 years ago when my son was first diagnosed with autism, we heard about a...