Good morning... As my friend has been processing her extraordinary grief, she texted a sentence that touched my heart. "I just saw a quote," she wrote. "The pain is the leftover love you don't get to give." Fires, floods, feuds. Loss, lethargy, loneliness. Death, disasters, depression. Cancer, callousness, calamity. Betrayals, breakups, bombings. Accidents, addictions, Alzheimers. There are so [...]
Good morning... Another loyal friend, a daily blog reader and longtime Northside Church member, wrote to me recently, sharing the photo above, offering a tribute to Audrey DeShetler who went to heaven in June. ****** Audrey's Race Is Won by Vilda Brennan About 10 years ago, I took a course called Soul Collage. I loved the concept of [...]
Good morning... Last night, on the grounds of my parents' senior living community in Ohio, I went on a walk at dusk, around 7:30 pm. At 7:56 pm, I received this update from the DeShetler family. I gave my full focus to [...]
Good morning... At 10:00 am at University Hospital near Cleveland, Ohio, my dad had surgery scheduled to remove a cancer spot on his leg yesterday. I stayed at their villa, caring for my mom. At 9:30 am yesterday at CHOA in Atlanta, Georgia, Audrey DeShetler was scheduled to have surgery to put in a stent to open up [...]
Good morning... "I'm having surgery on my leg to remove a cancer spot on June 5th. Is there any way you could come in town to be with your mom during my procedure?" my dad asked in April, as I visited my parents in Ohio for my dad's 88th birthday. I felt honored my dad asked. To be [...]
Good morning... Last Monday, our Fab Five friend group shared lunch with nineteen year old Audrey DeShetler. Audrey's nearly fifteen year cancer journey with neuroblastoma has brought her to a divine healing in recent months. "Audrey, you are well," she sensed during a personal encounter with Jesus. Now she is living into the manifestation of God's miracle. Healing [...]
Good morning... I spent much of my Mother's Day afternoon assembling and delivering welcome bags for today's ISP (Ignatian Spirituality Project) retreat at the Ignatius House Retreat Center. Now, on this special morning, fifteen women recovering from homelessness and addiction will arrive at the MARTA station and be transported to Ignatius House by kind volunteers. Fifteen of you [...]
Good morning... The down-to-earth words of Kate Bowler come into my inbox every Wednesday. Kate is a professor at Duke Divinity School, a writer, a podcaster, and a cancer survivor. Yesterday, Kate shared with me, and millions of her regular blog readers, this tender word of encouragement. ****** Dear Sue, Is it just me, or does May always [...]
Good morning... On Easter Monday, I blogged about Caregiving For A Loved One. "Sue, I read your blog," texted Jennifer DeShetler, mother of Audrey, who has journeyed with cancer for over fourteen years. "It's funny. I wrote about myself as a caregiver yesterday on Facebook." Knowing that I am not on any social media, Jennifer shared with me [...]
Good morning... I happened upon a unique rendition of the song "I Will Fix You" by Coldplay. Might we imagine God singing these lyrics to us, as we are lost, found, and led home by the light? ****** "Fix You" - lyrics by writers Jonathan Mark Buckland, Christopher Anthony John Martin, William Champion, Guy Rupert Berryman When you [...]
