Good morning... I loved overhearing my parents' conversation in the kitchen as I got ready in the living room for my mom's surgery day. "Well, I had my first surgery on Labor Day and now hopefully my last reversal surgery on President's Day," astutely said my 85-year-old mom. "You can tell I was a kindergarten teacher, always moving [...]
Good morning... In these early morning hours, I pull out the bulletin from Scott's celebration service. Out fall the eight small pages of notes I took during the zesty tribute. Reading through my scribblings again, the unique flavor of Scott's vibrant life comes back in full force. Scott's two brothers and a handful of friends spoke alongside our [...]
Good morning... We wake on the day that Scott's body will be laid to rest. As his obituary so beautifully reveals, he loved so very well. His amazing wife, his two young kids, his extended family, his many friends, his church, his work, Scott loved so very, very well. Basking in the sunshine streaming into our church, I [...]
Good morning... "I am feeling the magic of just being with, fully present," I email a friend whose father passed away this year. This week I am hanging out with my dad in Ohio as we support my mom, who is slowly recovering in the hospital from a life-threatening infection. "Keeping quiet. Letting things unfold. Trusting God with [...]
Good morning... Last week at their senior living community, my dad performed the role of "Tommy-O, the elf" and my mom was his happy sidekick. What a fun photo! This week, my mom is recovering in a hospital room near my hometown of Berea, Ohio. On Christmas Eve, she was not herself, exhausted and lethargic. The ambulance came [...]
Good morning... On my way to church to work the second shift of worship services on Christmas Eve, I enjoyed dropping off a container of homemade soup for a feverish friend who was home sick with COVID. I love making and sharing soup regularly. The thick, rich smells. The warm wafting comfort. This week's one-of-a-kind concoction included boiled [...]
Good morning... Up in the middle of the night, I scroll through photos I snapped last month while visiting my parents in Ohio. As my mom and I went on a walk through the welcoming sidewalks of their senior living community, I took the picture above at one of her favorite resting spots on a bench outside the [...]
Good morning... Yesterday was a very long day. 7:00 am: I spoke by phone with my mom, my dad, and my sister in the hospital waiting room. As mom was wheeled back for her five to six hour surgery, "We love you," filled her ears, her mind, and her heart. 12:15 pm, my dad's first text came: "She went [...]
Good morning... The wordless prayer card above sits beside me in the living room as I write. The man depicted looks so much like my dad reading the paper at the kitchen table in their sunny Ohio villa. "Good Life," the main heading in the newspaper, is something my parents have enjoyed for 85 and 86 years. The [...]
Good morning... My endless circle of prayer has another twisted link in it. This morning I deeply pray for a family I do not know. On Thanksgiving morning, our youngest son, Jeremiah, came home after spending a celebratory night at a friend's house. This family's son celebrated similarly, but their son did not come home. He ended up [...]
