Heartbreak Etched in Sand

I was walking the beach last week and I came across a message etched in the sand that I’m still thinking about. It was one of those messages where at first you smile and say, “That’s nice.” A moment later your heart sinks as you feel the weight of the last half of the note. […]

Crying Over the Removal of Tears

Every time I read Revelation 21:1-7, it brings tears to my eyes thinking about the removal of suffering. I know that’s ironic since this is the passage that talks about God “wiping away every tear (NASB).” But as long as I’m in this world, there will still be tears. Yet these verses are not just […]

No More Sorrow

Revelation 21 gives us a glimpse of the promise of a new heaven and earth, free from sin, pain, and sorrow; the hope of restoration and dwelling with God.

Sunday praise

“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness, That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.” – Psalm 30:11-12 (NASB)

Compassion in Grief

When we suffer loss, the grief can be overwhelming. Jesus felt that same pain when he learned that his cousin John the Baptist was beheaded by Herod. “Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself (Matthew 14:13).” It’s hard to see God’s purpose in […]

Sorrow Knows No Bounds

I had just watched my mom’s casket lowered into the ground when I noticed a young couple about one hundred yards away. They were standing with their children next to a small headstone. I recognized the couple, so as family and friends dispersed from my mom’s graveside, I walked over and stood with them. It […]

Friday Faith – Grief

Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; My eye is wasted away from grief, my soul and my body also. For my life is spent with sorrow And my years with sighing; My strength has failed because of my iniquity, And my body has wasted away. – Psalm 31:9-10 (NASB) Therefore […]

The Discipline of Trauma

When I reflect back on so many traumatic events in my life, I recall the pain and hurt. In the middle of those events, sometimes I wondered what God was doing. Yet when I look at my life today, I know those events helped to shape who I am. My faith is deeper for having […]

Prayer Journey — Inconsolable Grief

This morning I am deeply saddened as I think of a family who lost a child in a tragic accident last week. Inconsolable grief is all I can think. I do not understand dear God the purpose behind such pain. I am weary with my sighing; Every night I make my bed swim, I dissolve […]

Sowing Tears

I couldn’t see it at the time. The trauma was too severe; the tears never seemed to stop. It was difficult to see any good in the midst of such awful pain. Yet God reassured me to stand firm, to cling to His Word and promises. Prayerful people he put in my life at that […]