Despite the weight of grief, God meets me faithfully in every season of my life, even the painful ones. Through Scripture, prayer, and the gentle practices that keep me grounded, God continues to remind me that grief is a journey. … More Living With Grief
As we wade through Advent, maybe it is easy to doubt. Maybe you are struggling with the external happiness of a world that is home to death and darkness. It can be easy to forget that the birth of Christ was also the beginning of His death; that Mary and Joseph would soon flee across the desert with an infant who was being hunted. … More What Child is This?
The commas in our life produce pauses, but they can also unite a juxtaposition. In my first years of grief after losing my mom, the comma left me feeling restless. When will this pain be over? When can I get back to normal? But the comma gave me hope knowing my pain was not wasted, and God would help me in my grief. … More Grief Commas
Advent and Christmas may look different this year. This isn’t a poor reflection on you. … More Honoring our Deceased Loved Ones During the Holiday Season
It never occurred to me that my child might also go through stages of grief when they start to realise that they are different from their peers or when they learn about their diagnosis. My little one understands they have a diagnosis and has been in tears from frustration, not understanding why they react a certain way in specific situations. … More Autism, Grief, and Surrendering to the Lord
It is a knowing of the world and myself that comes only with loss, the kind of wisdom written into the leaves that know when to blaze brightly and when to let go. … More October Helps Me Grieve
As someone who spent many years of my life as a Protestant, I have found that there are three things that the Catholic Church offers that bring me tremendous peace despite my trials and sufferings. … More Three ways that our Catholic faith helps us to find peace in our suffering
We live in a culture that measures progress by how quickly we have moved on. Grief doesn’t work in this way. It is not linear. This moment of sadness doesn’t mean that you are going backward. It is a reminder that love lives on. … More I Should Be Over This By Now
The vigil is one place no one wants be. There is a deep primal part of you that wants to get up, leave, and close the door tight behind you and just walk as fast and as far in the opposite direction as possible. Stronger still, is the need to stay and be present. No doubt, this is how Mary felt at the foot of the cross. … More Keeping Vigil
I continued to lose my identity as I grew into adulthood, married and became a mother. I would constantly hide behind the mask of perfectionism, afraid that if anyone saw the real me —the truth —I would not be loved and would instead be quickly rejected. I was always running on nervous energy and heightened anxiety. I would stumble over my words and actions, having no self-confidence. Something needed to change, but I had no idea what, as my chronic health issues were seemingly here to stay. … More Losing my Identity and Finding it in Christ