The Heart of Hope Day in and day out there beats within us a heart, pulsating a rhythm and a story by which we live. For some it is a rhythm of disrhythm—of chaos, noise, clamor and beneath it all—fear.  From the moment of waking, the heart is on the defense. Continuously radiating between panic, peace, happiness and despair, it knows not where to turn, what to expect or how to shield itself from further pain. Have I adequately described the life of a parent caring for a chronically ill child? You live one appointment away, one phone call away,…

There is something about Christmas that brings out the sting of loss, whether it has been years or just a couple of months. Christmas strips away the buffer of time and stacks memories one on top of another. In a moment you are transported to other winter nights, other evenings lit by twinkle lights. Ornaments go up and you remember their stories. A stocking is hung and you remember who is missing. Christmas sets one year next to another in such a way that just for a moment you can look back through the tunnel of time while memories come…

It is astounding how quickly the nonessentials of life are stripped away during times of crisis. Suddenly the to-do list gets very short, very quickly. Instantly soccer practice, vacuuming the living room, making cookies for your son’s class party is gone, and all that is left: survive. Somehow make it through. I’m sure many of you know what this stripping is like. When your world goes from the crazy-but-beautiful-pinterest-inspired life to a nightmare you never dreamed possible. Some of you bounce between these two settings all the time. You live forever between the two worlds. All is well and in…

What are we to do with our dreams? With those precious, difficult to utter hopes of our heart? Those things we think about in the rare moments of silence in our lives. In the car… as we are doing the dishes… when the world is still and we have a moment to dream for a while. We have dreams of the way we would like to see our lives change. Dreams of love, of a growing family, of impact, of carving our names into the tiny corner of our world. We also have dreams of the way we hope our…

Of all sorrow, secret sorrow has to be the heaviest. Grief that is hidden; wounds that are wept over in darkness. Sorrows that ebb from events that cannot be shared. It may be crushed dreams that are too precious to lay open before the world, or hidden hopes that have been snuffed out. It may be a betrayal that has left you too raw to even whisper the word “help.” Though these situations seem unique to us, the truth is we all have wounds we weep over in darkness. Wounds too fresh, too personal, too near our hearts. And these…