It was just a few more days until Christmas in San Francisco, and the shopping downtown was starting to get to us. I remember crowds of people waiting impatiently for slow-moving buses and streetcars on those little cement islands in the middle of the street.
Most of us were loaded down with packages, and it looked like many of us were beginning to wonder if all those countless friends and relatives actually deserved so many gifts in the first place.
Today’s wisdom is from God: 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “Give thanks in all circumstances.” Maybe right now your...
The following poem powerfully describes the painful feelings and issues that arise when friends (of all ages) are separated by a geographic move. It was written by a ten-year-old boy and given to his friend Jonathan Kleyn, now from Holland, Michigan.
My Best Friend
Dear Karen,
I have a friend who's elderly mother has always been emotionally controlling, abusive and just down right mean. I would describe her as "toxic", just full of venom. She seems to have never learned any other way to get her needs met. I would say she is mentally ill. Her son, my friend, is the only family member willing to make sure she is cared for. What is your advice for the son in this case... day after day, week after week subjected to the assaults to his heart, soul and humanity as he tries to do the right thing for his mother? - Sarah
"Two weeks before the birth of our son, the most dreadful thing happened: I discovered that my husband was having an affair. I had suspected it, but in every way possible I did want to believe it. However, what I had been denying inside became a reality; I was face to face with her and my husband. She didn’t belong in his arms. I did! My arms were empty and so was my heart.
I recently received this email from Cameron who was suddenly thrust into the role of caregiver for his wife, Heather, just after becoming a new father. Cameron tells his story of compassion and hope, then provides a link to a 3 minute video that further describes their journey.
Dear Karen:
I came across your blog and really identified with a lot of your writing. My name is Cameron and I was thrown into the role of caregiver when my wife, Heather, was diagnosed with a very rare and deadly cancer called mesothelioma, just three months after the birth of our only child.
It is extremely important for the caregiver to take good care of him or herself as well as the care-receivers. CareGiving can be a thankless, exhausting job and it may seem selfish to take care of oneself when the care-receivers require so much attention. To fail to do so, however, can be destructive. Jesus said, “Love God . . . Love Neighbor . . . Love Self.”
How can we give a suffering person something to look forward to? Hope. How can we give them hope? Martin Luther King, Jr said, “If you lose hope, somehow you lose the vitality that keeps moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all.”
