Christian comedian Mark Lowry once asked his audience how many of them had ever had a broken heart. Seeing that a few hands weren’t raised he replied, “The rest of you haven’t hit puberty yet, I guess.” Unfortunately, heartaches are a part of life. Few people are exempt. Some heartaches come suddenly with the news of a lost loved one. Some heartaches linger while we wait for our desires to be fulfilled. And some heartaches happen as the result of rejection and broken promises. At some time or another, most of us experience the pain of a break up – and, most of us will experience the pain of … [Read more...]

Have you ever known anyone who has lost a spouse? Most of us have been in a situation where we have come face-to-face with someone who is grief-stricken by the loss of his or her life’s partner. When I was nine, I remember being at the funeral home for my great-grandmother’s viewing and suddenly a young widow (probably in her 30s) came down the hall sobbing. She was held closely by a friend or family member and if I recall she wailed something like, “What am I going to do without him. I can’t go on!” Even though I was a child, it affected me. Twenty-one years later, I can still see the agony … [Read more...]

When someone loses a loved one, people around him or her usually offer condolences such as, “I’m so sorry for your loss.” “He’s in a better place.” “She’s not suffering anymore.” “My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.” “May God comfort you as you grieve.” Yet, when a couple suffers a miscarriage, they are often met with some highly offensive, hurtful comments – not because people don’t care, but because they don’t know what to say. Below are a few comments grieving couples likely do not want to hear: It was God’s will.  In Christian circles, this seems to be the go to … [Read more...]

There are a few different kinds of married couples who don’t yet have children. There are the couples who are newly married and want to wait a few years before having babies. There are couples who have been married a while, want kids, but have not been able to have any yet. There are couples who married under the expectation that they would never have children. And some young married couples aren’t sure what life will bring, but they are up for anything – kids or no kids. Regardless of the reason couples don’t have kids, there are a few phrases you should probably avoid. Even if a couple … [Read more...]

Relationships are complicated. Our first connections are with our parents and when we’re small our relationship with them is fairly cut and dry. Then we begin to grow into our own personalities and suddenly we realize that we don’t agree with our parents completely. We find that we have different interests and passions to pursue. Some friendships start early in life and evolve as we grow; whereas, some friendships wither as life seasons change. We should nourish and savor those friendships which continue to grow through the ebbs and flows of life.  In fact, if you go through life with just … [Read more...]