Stories of Strength and Creativity

There are a few conversations in a child's life you know will happen.  Going into this pandemic, I knew eventually I would need to talk with my children about the death of a loved one.  It's a topic we don't want to think about, but we know we will have to face with our children at some point.  How can we talk about something we have trouble facing our self? Well, this week came that discussion.  As a parent I took time to remember and prepare myself that everyone handles grief differently .  One child wanted to avoid any and all mention of it.  My other child said simply, "Everyone dies.  We'll see him in heaven." Kids also have a way of being blunt about things!  I myself thought about what it was I treasured in that person, prayed for them, and wanted closure by attending the funeral.  Allow the sadness.  After all, how else will they know true joy, if they have not experiences sadness and loss? No way is the right way.  We are a...

I often reflect in awe at the awesome responsibility God entrusted me in being the mom of two boys.  I never imagined the decisions I would have to make in their health, upbringing, care, and safety.  I remember laboring over my "birth plan."  I am a planner by nature and so having that plan gave me security.  Everything would go perfectly as planned.  I don't remember at what point in the labor that plan went out the window, but I know what was on paper and what happened were two different things. Through the course of their childhood, I have had to make a ton of decisions - some big and some small.  But every decision was important because it was for my child to whom I was entrusted with the responsibility of raising.  As my children grew I realized more and more that my children belong to God and therefore the best way I could serve as the vessel of their mother was to pray to God for the wisdom to make the decision best for them. I'm not perfec...