“I can teach you how to fly." Those were the words, spoken to me in a dream last year, by a wise woman I call “Macrina/Judi.” Macrina is Macrina Weiderkehr, an author who has accompanied me on my spiritual journey for the past ten years. And Judi is Judi Dench, the actress. In this particular dream, I knew the person speaking to me was Macrina, but she had the face and voice of Judi … [Read more...]
“Get a Life!”
"Get a life!" I’m often tempted to say that: • When things aren’t going my way I think, “Wow, if I could just get a life!” • When frustrated, I sometimes say, “This is life?” • As a young mom changing diapers I’d catch myself thinking, “This is not what I thought children were going to be all about. I wonder when I’ll get a life.” • When our son wasn’t developing on schedule and we’d … [Read more...]
Made For Another World
There I sat, in a fully reclined canvas chair under a cluster of palm trees. The sandy beach in front of me was like fine white powder bordered by a clear blue sea that looked more like a swimming pool than an ocean. The sapphire water met a cerulean sky at the horizon, almost making it hard to distinguish one from the other. A welcoming sun set high and bright in the heavens on this … [Read more...]
Audacious Prayer
There are many tools in the box of the special needs parent: humor in a crisis to help dry tears (not my forte), how-to books and hopeful stories to counter “what-if” fears, coffee to keep going after sleepless nights, and Cadbury’s chocolate for pretty much everything else. And prayer. Lots and lots of prayer. Until recently, I thought I knew how to pray. For example, I often use the Lord’s … [Read more...]
At the End of Your Rope?
A letter from my 61-year-old self to my 35-year-old self: Dearest Kathy, I know you're scared. It’s been obvious from the beginning that something was not right with Joel’s development. Lack of oxygen during his birth, severe jaundice, an arrogant doctor who didn’t answer your questions and didn’t insist on hospitalization for the jaundice, floppy muscles, delayed developmental … [Read more...]
Four Women I Would Like to Thank on January 22
Next week (January 22) is National Sanctity of Human Life Day, which happens to fall on the 41st anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the monumental supreme court case legalizing abortion. For some Christians this is just a week set aside on the calendar when the church recognizes the atrocity of abortion. The pastor preaches from Psalm 139 while citing a myriad of numbers and statistics. The congregation … [Read more...]