Diagnostic Prayer   Whether we recognize it or not, we all live with two sets of beliefs about God. We have first our formal theology—the things we’ve learned to nod our heads to: God is all-powerful, loving, wise, good, always present, etc. This formal theology sits on a shelf with a thin layer of dust depending on how often we need to pull it out to answer questions in Bible studies. But we all also have another set of beliefs about God, our functional theology. This is theology that guides us every waking minute of the day. It is what we truly believe about God.…

The Hidden Song of Christmas As we move steadily nearer to Christmas, I wonder what emotions fill your soul? What kind of journey has 2025 been for you? I’m sure for some of you, there has been exquisite beauty in this past year–moments you will cherish for a lifetime. For you, I smile and pray that this Christmas will be a celebration of the joys you have been given. For others, I imagine this year has been transformational in another way. Perhaps it has been a year that you will look back on and wonder how you lived through, how…

Give Thanks We have come to the season when everything from glittering door wreaths to fall-colored napkins remind us to “Give Thanks.” Here we are at the doorstep of Thanksgiving, and I wonder how you all are doing. For some of you this may be your first Thanksgiving with a new diagnosis; it may be the first time you’ve ever had a Thanksgiving meal in a hospital. For others this will be another year making room for a wheelchair around the table, another year of making alterations and adjustments in order to make Thanksgiving “work” for your child. Some of…

Soundtrack of Truth I’ve said it before, one of the most difficult aspects of heartache is the feeling of being singled out. Being the only one. There is the rest of the world and there is you. On Saturday mornings, families head off to soccer games, cookouts and birthday parties, and you spend another day in isolation. You are staring out of a hospital window or facing another long day at home unable to venture out because of the needs of the precious one who binds you. Other families chatter about their concerns, why their child is going through a…

The Art of Contentment “Teach my heart to love, not what used to be, not what is to be, but what is.” I wrote these words during a personal season of yearning and disquietness. I felt myself strapped down to painful circumstances, unable to break free from the present pain. My soul seemed to constantly seek escape. I wanted to fly into the past where all was unbroken or to the far-off future when all would be well again.   Once you have passed through the initial phase of shock following a life-altering event, there can settle in a quiet,…