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The Comfort of Christmas
Comfort, comfort my people, says their God Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned . . . Isaiah 40:1-2 It’s Christmas time, for many of us our favorite time of the year. This is the season of brilliant lights and beautiful color, of celebration and laughter, of holiday parties and family traditions, of rich memories and precious anticipations. There is no season like Christmas. Yet for many of us there’s another side to Christmas, a dark and colorless side, a season of painful memories and family struggles when those who should have brought us joy have…
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Offering Comfort in a Hurting World
Wherever in the world you live, you can point to terrible incidences of suffering, hurt or violence. Sadly, I’ve sometimes seen myself in articles and blogs about what not to say to a grieving or suffering person. But I’ve also been blessed to receive meaningful expressions of comfort at times when I have suffered or lost a loved one. Here are five things I have found helpful on the receiving end of comfort: Be present. At the death of my father, my late brother’s high school friend, Danny, came to his memorial service. Simply his presence and his embrace lifted our hearts. He didn’t need to say anything or bring…
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Where is our Hope?
Injustice. Anger. Murder. Mourning. (Repeat.) It seems the newsfeeds do not change—same story, just different day and different city. Additional protests lead to counter protests: #BlackLivesMatter, #WhiteLivesMatter, #AllLivesMatter. Confusion and anger fuels more anger. I read and watch social media posts and videos from various viewpoints. It disappoints me that many posts are full of blame, anger, should-haves, and could-haves. And so the cycle continues… Injustice. Anger. Murder. Mourning. (Repeat) Blame and anger are normal stages in the grief process. But it seems many people stay in those stages and never move forward. Why? They want justice. They want vengeance. Many simply want change, change for the better. And so…
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Quiet Presence: Comfort Those Who Hurt
Yesterday two dear friends called with heartbreaking news—news that will change the course of their lives. And as a “word” person, I’m profoundly aware of how inadequate words are at such times. In fact, offering comfort can be as much about what we don’t say as what we do…. An obstetrician friend told me that during his first year of medical practice, he sat with a couple who lost a baby at twenty-three weeks. Feeling at a total loss for words, he sat in silence and wept with them. He felt surprised when they later thanked him profusely saying, “You said just the right words.” He wondered “What words? I…
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Three Things About Suffering
These next few weeks bring a graduation with much celebration emphasizing the busy season in my life. I asked my friend Kimmy Tan to guest blog for me. Not only did she deliver despite the short notice, she also encouraged me! She reminded me of how precious our heavenly Father proves Himself to us every day. I dread taking my son to his well check-up appointments. When the nurse arrives holding the tray of immunizations, my heart starts pounding. Every single time I see the vials and shots perfectly aimed for my baby, my mind plans an extravagant escape route rivaling any “Mission Impossible” scene. On this particular, gloomy…
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Are We Writing A Great Story with Our Lives?-Donald Miller (Blue Like Jazz) offers help
When the credits roll, will people shrug and think my story was kind of boring? Will they think your story was great, one that inspired their own? How might we intentionally write a great story into our lives? If you write a story about your life and it winds up selling over a million copies, you just might have two guys show up at your front door wanting to make a movie out it. Such was the case with Donald Miller.
