Category: Grief
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My Oxford Year and Secular Rom-Coms
This past weekend, my wife and I were in the mood for a good romantic comedy. Netflix had just released what appeared to be another Hallmark-like rom-com, My Oxford Year. To our surprise, it proved to be more of a tearjerker than an emotionally satisfying feel-good experience. It was also a perfect example of the…
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The Front Row of a Funeral
Unless you have sat in the front row of a funeral, you do not know how painful grief can be. You are not alone in the front-row seat. An unwelcome visitor named Grief now clings to you like the humidity of a Georgia August. You discover a newfound sense of emptiness as wave after wave…
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A Place to Remember
Are there places in your life that hold a bad memory. The mere sight of the location triggers an emotional response. Painful experiences from the past can do that. One such memory for me has since become a treasured remembrance. Well, that may be a bit of an overstatement. But, at the very least, it’s…
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Life Is Too Short
I have attended two funerals thus far this year — one for a man named Mike and one for a woman named Carole. The services were more a celebration of their lives rather than a somber, mournful dirge. These two people lived long, productive lives. More importantly, they lived lives of faithfulness to God, and…
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Lessons of the Holy Ache
Have you ever had a desire that nothing on this earth could satisfy? Have you ever suffered a pain or a loss that nothing in this world could console? In 2011, I experienced such grief when I lost my wife to cancer. I eventually called this pain a Holy Ache. More about that later. Surveying…
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A Ticket of Grace
With Halloween just two weeks away, I am beginning to get the urge to shout “BOO” to 2020 in hopes it will go away. This year feels like a daily reliving of Groundhogs Day and Halloween as we wear a mask EVERY day. Come to think of it, 2020 feels like one of those haunted…
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Praying for Tears
In the 1992 movie, A League of Their Own, Tom Hanks plays the Manager of a women’s baseball team. One of the most quoted lines of that movie is when Hanks shouts at a player, “There is no crying in baseball!” Frankly, I think most men feel the same about life. Shedding tears is not a…
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Transition Planning
Let’s be honest. Death is not something we like to discuss. We don’t want to think about it, plan for it, much less talk about it. It is an uncomfortable topic of discussion, much like wearing a scratchy wool sweater in the heat of the summer — it’s neither fashionable nor comfortable. I remember years…
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Finding My Voice
I have a confession to make. As a Christian, there were times when I could be arrogant and judgmental. This critical spirit manifested itself especially as it regarded one’s prayer life. That was until 2011. Up until then, I considered the best prayers to be those spontaneous, heartfelt expressions spoken from one’s heart. No rote…
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Names Worth Remembering
Some places conjure up more than pleasant vacation memories. They trigger emotions, prompting a momentary pause to reflect, to reminisce, to remember. These places have names, names that are more than a geographic spot on a map, names that echo across time. Names that might or should cause us to pause, to bow your head,…
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