Did you know there's an antidote to discouragement? And it works almost immediately, if we can only remember to pull it out of our spiritual tool kits and use it! What is it? Praise! Some of you may be thinking, Really? You don't know what our family is facing on a daily basis! I get it. Sometimes I feel like my prayers for healing within my family (autism, bipolar disorder, traumatic … [Read more...]
Autism and Dementia: How Do We Cope?
Last week, on a gloomy Thursday afternoon, I sat in the prayer room on our retreat center’s property with a student from Miami University. It was the first meeting of a spiritual mentoring relationship. I lit a candle and made her a cup of tea. Frankly, I wondered if I had anything to give that day. The day before I’d visited my mom, who is careening headlong into full-blown dementia. I’d … [Read more...]
Speaking Truth to Power
Last night my husband and I attended a concert called One City One Symphony at Cincinnati Music Hall. For the past several years the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has chosen one concert a year to facilitate community conversation around a theme. This year’s theme? Speaking truth to power. I sat in the balcony of the beautifully refurbished Grand Dame of music halls, immersed in powerful music … [Read more...]
God’s Surprises
November. Not my favorite month of the year. Darkness draws in as days shorten. Temperatures drop. The furnace hums. Coats, scarves and hats hang from the hall tree. I’m constantly wrapped in an alpaca blanket, trying to stay warm. I love the glories of fall foliage, but some of us (me included!) suffer from SAD—Seasonal Affective Disorder—so this can be a tough time of year. No wonder … [Read more...]
Wholeness Does Not Mean Perfection: It Means Embracing Brokenness
I can’t tell you how many times, over my 32 year journey with autism, I have returned to this quote for inspiration: On July 4, 1999, a twenty-minute maelstrom of hurricane force winds took down twenty million trees across the Boundary Waters. A month later, when I made my annual pilgrimage up north, I was heartbroken by the ruin and wondered whether I wanted to return. And yet on each visit … [Read more...]
Fuel for the Journey
Parenting may be one of the most rewarding jobs on earth, but it is also one of the most difficult. I am the mother of three sons. My youngest, Joel (32), has autism along with an anxiety disorder and severe kyphosis of the spine. Parenting a child with a disability is especially demanding, requiring surpluses of energy, patience and perseverance beyond, at times, what seems humanly possible. As … [Read more...]