Category: grief

Even a Superhero Can Get Cancer

  We already knew that cancer is no respecter of people: young/old, rich/poor, athlete/couch potato, doesn’t matter. It can strike whenever and wherever. And a few days ago we learned that even a superhero can get cancer…and die. Award-winning film actor Chadwick Boseman starred in 42 as Jackie Robinson, the first Black Major League Baseball player, and …

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Living with Loss: My Oncologist Has Cancer (Part 2)

  Cancer has a nasty habit of taking things away from people–things like hair and strength and jobs and time. Sometimes it takes them away for a short while and sometimes it takes them away permanently. Even before my oncologist Dr. Marc Hirsh got an official cancer diagnosis, the disease already was robbing him of …

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IF ONLY…

If only I hadn’t missed that one little step on the deck, fallen and broken my wrist fourteen months ago.  If only that tumble didn’t cause a nerve injury, greatly impeding my recovery and still needing prescription pain relief. If only all the trauma  didn’t bring on tachycardia, requiring a complete cardiac workup and lifestyle …

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How is your tent holding up?

I distinctly remember the last time my family and I went tent camping…and why we never did again after that experience. It was the summer of 1983 and my pastor-husband convinced me that it would be fun for our daughters and me to join him on the youth group camping trip. So I packed up …

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Do We Always See God Work Everything for Good?

So if God works all things together for good, does that mean in our lifetime we will see that promise come true?  Maybe…maybe not. I consider myself extremely fortunate that God has allowed me to see firsthand how He has used my cancer diagnosis for good by giving me a worldwide ministry to cancer patients …

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SIX THINGS ALWAYS TO SAY TO GRIEVERS

  Have you ever felt helpless knowing what to say when someone has experienced a deep loss? How do we convey sympathy without saying something irritating or even downright painful? (See last’s week’s blog “Six Things Never to Say to Grievers.”) Here are my thoughts on SIX THINGS ALWAYS TO SAY TO GRIEVERS. I’m so …

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SIX THINGS NEVER TO SAY TO GRIEVERS

  If you want to start a lively discussion sometime, just ask a roomful of grievers whether anyone has made an insensitive remark to them since their loved ones died. I guarantee you the recollections will be vivid, free-flowing and still hurtful no matter how much time has passed. We all encounter grieving people and …

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