Friendship is sometimes forged in the most unusual situations. It became a moment of laughter for the two of us. We could not have orchestrated such meet-ups, nor could we have predicted how God would use scheduled conference breaks to bring two strangers together. But after four days of unplanned run-ins in front of the door marked "Women," we acknowledged these were no accident, and surely God had a plan we were unaware of at the moment. As weeks and months passed, each of us sharing bits of our lives, we came to understand how connected and parallel our journeys had become. We walked our journeys together..... sharing our fears praying for strength crying out for understanding laughing through adversity challenging each other to surrender grieving unspeakable Continue Reading
Braving Unmet Expectations & Finding Hope – Made for Brave Sisterhood
He left when I was twelve. War, PTSD, and alcoholism left my father a broken man, unable to cope with the responsibilities of family. I visited him summers and weekends, but we never regained the daddy-daughter relationship that my heart yearned for. I so wanted him to acknowledge me, listen to me, and show an interest in my life, but he was overwhelmed trying to survive his own. Then I had my first child. Something about holding my baby and feeling a love so intense I couldn’t breathe caused me to question how my own father could resist loving me. After conversations with my older sister and a couple of visits to Al-Anon, I began to realize that I needed to let go of the expectation that he would be able to show me love in the way I desired. So, instead, I determined to show Him Continue Reading
5 Ways to Brave A Disappointing Marriage
After a long day at work, he walked in through the kitchen door and with urgency came to me as I stood over the stove. He seemed to ignore my busyness and put his arms around me. For a split second, I thought something had changed. Hope welled up inside me, but then in a mocking voice came words that told me I was wrong. “How was your day”, he asked? Before I had a chance to respond he rolled his eyes and walked away. I picked my heart up off the floor and quickly tucked it safely in the back pocket of my jeans like I had done so many times before. Dinner was served and another night of meaningless conversation was etched on the calendar of our marriage. The day before, I went out on a limb and told him we don’t talk anymore. No more sweet conversations about our lives and our Continue Reading
5 Questions to Answer When Friends Disappoint
It's crazy how life is. Or, let’s be honest…how I am. It was one of the happiest times of my life as we welcomed our healthy newborn baby boy. There was so much to celebrate, yet something was missing… Oh, how precious were the days of building our family! Friends helped friends as they expanded their families – anticipating babies to be born, adjusting to new little ones. Sweet hugs and kisses, sleepless nights, temper tantrums, the whole package! Those times were exhausting but priceless! Bonding with friends was easy – for my husband and myself, as we had so much in common with those around us. Friends laughed and cried together, shared stories of exhaustion and exhilaration together. Those were the days that lifetime friends were made. By the time our second son was born, Continue Reading