My husband and I have been through hell and back. More than once. We were broken for a time, yes. But instead of staying that way, we became like a work of glass art. Glass artists make their creations by fusing broken pieces of glass together. The artists heat the glass over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit and once the artist is done putting the pieces of glass through extreme conditions, what were once separate, become a masterpiece. Once fused, there is no way to separate the glass again without shattering the creation. I know extreme conditions can destroy a marriage. But somehow that’s not ..read more

I wonder if you’re someone who has lived life as if it were an emergency…because it was. Perhaps you’re like me and walked the halls of hospitals one too many times. Or perhaps your emergency came in the form of sudden loss, forcing you into deep grief. Or maybe someone in your life left and you were forced to take over responsibilities you never had. Perhaps you lived like you were in survival mode because your survival or the survival of those around you was hanging in the balance. Maybe you have been clawing your way through the years. Maybe you still need to. Or maybe the threat that once ..read more

“If you could go back and take it away- would you?” My husband asked me this question over a fancy dinner this past weekend. After experiencing something unexpected, your propensity for small talk decreases. You swim quickly past the shallow waters and head for the deep. I told him my truth: I would take back the pain my children experienced through the unexpected if I could. But I would not take back my own. Some events are just too tragic for this kind of answer. But then there are others. Other unexpected events that have us teetering in along the thin veil that separates this world and ..read more

My husband recently read me a quote about trusting God. He loved it. I did not. My mind immediately went to all the times I trusted and all the times He didn’t come to the rescue. But what about that scary surgery? What about the miscarriage? What about that major disappointment where I thought I was following Him only to be left with ‘no’. Again. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought about what it means to trust Him. And I think it means no matter where we choose to go, or no matter where life chooses to take us, we trust He will be there to provide endless amounts of grace. I ..read more

Don’t leave too easily. In our modern world, where we can get next-day shipping, where we can cure Tuesday night angst with a Netflix binge, I think we forget the paths God desires His people to choose are not tidy. Can you think of a biblical character, a person, who had a worthwhile mission that was easy? I can’t. No, the work, the life God desires for us is rarely neat. So, if you find yourself on a path you thought you were called to walk, but it’s longer than you thought, if you find yourself questioning whether this path is the right one, because if it was, wouldn’t it be clear? Don’t l ..read more

  Life can be good again. I think we have this idea that a “good” life looks a lot like our old one, the one before the unexpected up-ended everything. That’s not the good I’m talking about. The good I’m referring to is not getting our life from before back but, instead, life anew. Several years ago, one of my close friends walked through hell on earth. Recently, I visited her and I was just in awe of the life she has re-built and is building. It’s not what she expected. It’s unexpected. And also, so very her- full of frequent visitors and land and animals and kids. It’s so very good ..read more

There is a truth I don’t want to be true. But I have lived it more than once- Hardships bring us closer to life. Something happens when living on the edge. The edge of before and after. The edge of life and death. Everything becomes more. The fog of busyness begins to dissipate when everything is teetering. Mundane leaves. Life sings a bit louder. And it calls us to take notice. To take notice of the way the light bounces off the water. To take notice of how our ideas about independence might need to be updated. To take notice of our pain so we can really see others in theirs, maybe even for ..read more

Sometimes the things we fear bring out the worst in us, actually bring out the best. I felt blindsided when a school official told me my son’s placement in general education was being questioned despite having zero evidence to back the change. I said some things and then beat myself up for them later.  And then I thought, what if this doesn’t bring out the worst in me, but the best?  I spoke what I believed to be true. I didn’t mince words. Do you know who else did that? The one I follow. He restored the marginalized, he was radically inclusive. He preached humility and gentleness ..read more

This is what it means to parent a child with a disability. My son, Anderson, scribbles a lot. With limited verbal skills, he’s never told me anything about his drawings. One of his recent pictures came home with a note from his teacher that said he was drawing “mom”. I lost it. I cried because I never thought to ask him what he was drawing before, I cried because of his intentionality, I cried because I am so proud of him. This is what it means to be a parent of a child with a disability. I had to check Anderson out of school during his lunch period. As I took his hand to lead him away, his c ..read more

Anderson enjoying ice cream aboard the Disney Wish When my husband asked me what I wanted to do to celebrate the release of my first book, The Gift of the Unexpected- Discovering Who You Were Meant to Be When Life Goes Off Plan, I knew it had to be something with the kids. I wrote the book when two of my three kids were still in diapers. I was a full time stay at home mom while trying to make this dream come to life. I would sometimes write while they crawled on top of me! They had to be a part of it! The only thing is- traveling with our son with Down syndrome has been pretty tough in the pas ..read more