When we lived in Italy, going to the American Embassy was always kind of a big deal. We needed to have papers and identification in order. We prepared. Despite our home country’s flag and passports in hand, walking into that imposing building, always brought a mixture of solemnity, pride, and respect. Guards flanked the doors, […]
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“Just do what’s right today,” my husband’s voice said into my ear. The cell phone pressed hard against me, as if the very pressure could somehow put his words into my being. But doing right that long-ago day, felt like a calling above my capabilities. Beyond all reasonable expectations. Utterly impossible. 2025’s Christmas wrapping paper […]
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When my daughter woke up on the day which changed all of our lives, it started pretty much like every other day. She felt a bit dizzy. She checked her temperature, but she didn’t have a fever. Yet, as the day wore on, a strange novocain numbness began its terrifying creep up her left side. […]
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We make promises. We plan, envision, re-calibrate, and define goals. We look ahead and behind. We hope, determine, and anticipate. We look forward to a white page, a whole year ahead, without smudges. Not a single broken resolve. Yet. Years ago, my husband, myself, and our three little girls stood together with about fifty others, […]
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A much younger me studied the face that stared back from the mirror. Outside of the bathroom, where I’d taken refuge, a squalling hurricane had erupted. My toddler daughter banged her fist on the door and screamed in an epic meltdown. And with a deep breath, I looked into my own troubled eyes. “Who […]
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This past Christmas might have confirmed what we knew all along. Many of the things we want most don’t come wrapped in beautiful packages. While holidays wind down and stores fill with red hearts, we realize, Christmas couldn’t give what we desired most. And we beg God for more. We wished for the list no […]
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