As much as this time of the year is filled with festivity and fun, the Christmas season can be a very difficult time for so many.  Even with the hope of the Savior, wishes of merriment and happiness can almost feel like salt poured into an open, raw wound; sometimes a heart is so completely

All the pleasures this life affords, especially in our wealthy, well-developed societies, can erroneously attach us to this world.  But pain is the great disconnector.  Suffering leaves us longing for more.  It reminds us that all is not as it should be.  It highlights the gaps in our lives, destined to remain unfulfilled here on

I am a reader of PostSecret.  If you are unaware of PostSecret it is an ongoing community art project where people mail their anonymous secrets on one side of a homemade postcard with the potential of being shared publicly on the PostSecret blog and elsewhere.  (Note: If you choose to visit the PostSecret blog, please

It is such a gift when new memories of Judson, memories I haven’t recalled since losing my son, unexpectedly surface. While Jessie and I were walking home from school the other day, she noted that one of the sprinkler heads in the grass along our path was sticking up out of the ground. Suddenly, a

We all love a good story.  We are especially drawn to stories of triumph because they can be particularly moving, inspiring, and full of hope.  A good, triumphant conclusion leaves us satisfied, while those without can be unfulfilling. As I had the opportunity to listen to various people share a bit of their story in

It is not uncommon for me to be asked how I have maintained faith in God after watching my son suffer and die.  I usualy respond in two ways…  First, I believe God has preserved my faith and it is only by his grace that I continue to trust.  Second, I have taken liberty to

At Judson’s Park Remembering Together Monday was a sacred day.  It wasn’t a holiday.  It wasn’t a birthday.  It wasn’t a day of festivity.  In fact, for most people it probably wasn’t a day of much consequence at all.  But for us, for our family, for those who knew and cared for our dear son,