Good morning... A friend to many of us, Cathy Smith, wrote this week her final post chronicling the precious life of her daughter Abby who went to heaven at age seven. ****** Dear Faithful Friends and Prayer Warriors: This will be the FINAL POST on Abby’s Care Page site due to the fact that Care Pages is shutting down [...]
Good morning... I have never met Mary, but yesterday she wrote: "Hi Sue, I saw your devotionals about brokenness and the verse in today’s has been one I have experienced so personally the last year and a half (He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds [healing their pain and comforting their sorrow] Psalm 147:3). I wanted to share what I [...]
Good Morning... On her Facebook page our friend Laura Deisley wrote these words last week: "Fred Rogers often told this story about when he was a boy and would see scary things on the news: My mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' To this day, especially in times [...]
Good morning... "Sue, I had to tell you about the 'God Wink' we had this morning and how God used you to reach out to us through your blog," she emailed me last week. "We were driving up to Highlands, NC this morning with husband's siblings and families. The purpose of our journey was to have a small ceremony to [...]
Good Morning... “The tucking in ceremony was so sad and so special,” my friend told me after a very significant family funeral. “What is a ‘tucking in’ ceremony?” I asked. She described for me her experience. After their loved one was cremated, following the funeral, the family members took turns digging a hole on a holy plot of land and, [...]
Good morning... Six months ago today, the spirit of our dear friend Julie returned to heaven from earth (Ecclesiastes 12:7). Sensing her way through the process of grief, Julie's mother recently shared with me this revealing YouTube video, a video which amplifies the whisper of God. “Speak to me, God,” we yell. “LORD, let me see you,” we beg. [...]
Good morning... “I know you lost a beloved tree to Irma,” she kindly wrote in her email. “I hope any other losses are minimal.” Our old, sturdy tree toppled in the high, drenching winds. I never thought of a fallen tree as a key loss until my fingers and my keyboard formed my tender response. “We did lose our [...]
Good morning... "Hoping high tide doesn't bring the river into our living room," a friend texted from Jacksonville, Florida as Hurricane Irma slammed her state. "Please pray that the water recedes and we don't see the predicted 4-6 foot surge. Thank you." I lifted prayers all day and was grateful for her final message. "Waters came up to the [...]
Good morning... She expressed concerned over crying so much. So I wrote to her my thoughts about the gift of tears. Grief is an unpredictable thing. "Crying so much lately" may feel like "going backward" instead of "making headway," but I think tears are a sign of the Holy Spirit deeply at work. Tears tenderize us and express overwhelming [...]
My recent post, "Run toward the roar," has created a lot of great dialogue, face to face and through email exchanges. One long time friend, who has lived through an immensely painful loss, wrote: "Hey Sue. Wow, this one is powerful and hits me deeply. As I think about it I don't see myself having run towards the roar [...]
