So, this month is my 50th birthday! I know that surprises some of you who thought perhaps I was pushing 70. Well, actually both are true… It was January 1972, my sophomore year of college at THE Ohio State University (some of you are cheering and others are booing—I love you all). My best friend …
Category: trust
Dec 15
Grieving something or someone this Christmas?
I thought it wouldn’t. But it did. It happened again. Kenny G was belting out jazzy, holiday cheer. A burning candle wafted a delicious candy cane scent. I was by myself happily decorating our house for Christmas. I lifted a slightly torn, rectangular box out of the large plastic storage bin and chuckled to myself. This box …
Dec 01
Don’t waste your cancer…or any other pain
Those are the words penned by author-pastor John Piper on the eve of his surgery for prostate cancer in 2006. My cancer prayer support group often discussed one of Piper’s ten ways we can “waste” cancer by allowing it—instead of God—to be foremost in our lives.* Probably the cancer survivor who most often expressed …
Nov 03
How God Whispers His Love
I’ve always been fascinated by the bald eagle, our country’s national symbol. But about a decade ago these once-endangered creatures came to symbolize something even more special for me. My women’s group was reading a book by husband-wife duo John and Stasi Eldredge in which they shared an amazing story. While John was on a …
Oct 13
Check-up Time: My Oncologist Has Cancer (Part 7)
I haven’t posted anything since March about my oncologist/former boss/dear friend, Dr. Marc Hirsh, who was diagnosed 16 months ago with an extremely rare, large cancerous tumor behind his heart. Last month at his 6-month checkup with his Hershey Medical oncologist, Marc and his wife Elizabeth braced themselves for bad news, still clinging to hope …
Sep 29
How God is Like a Cross Country Mom or Dad
I don’t know if your family ever had a cross country athlete, but our middle daughter Bethany was one in high school. She didn’t excel at the long-distance event, but decided running would help keep her in shape for her favorite sports of basketball, and track and field. What I initially didn’t realize was that …
Sep 15
“You’re gonna be okay.”
I miss my dad. It’s been a decade since he took his last breath on this earth and I still miss him. Especially during college football season as I’m frantically cheering on my Ohio State Buckeyes (with apologies to all my friends in that state up north!) My dad was an incredible multi-sport athlete, as …