Our eldest daughter had a mystery illness when she was a teenager. It began innocently enough with aches and joint pain, then progressed over the next year from a minor annoyance to a full-blown crisis. We first consulted with her pediatrician and were referred to an orthopedic specialist who recommended physical therapy. We tried that for a while and treated symptoms like joint pain with Tylenol. As time went on her symptoms worsened but we couldn’t find the source of the problem.
Continue ReadingI Don’t Do What I Want to Do
Being a mother has been the greatest joy of my life. I’ve loved raising our kids, helping them grow and mature into adults. Now that our eldest daughter and son-in-law have had their first baby (our first grandchild), being a mom has taken on new significance.
Continue ReadingSeeing Signs
It’s late August and the corn fields are growing tall here in our corner of southeastern Pennsylvania. They remind me of a favorite movie, Signs, written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. I love the suspense, cinematography, soundtrack, and the way it was filmed in locations surrounding Philadelphia, like many of his other movies. If you’re from the area, you probably know that filming took place very close to home in Bucks County. But my favorite thing about the movie is the central conflict which explores how we explain life, death, our purpose and meaning.
Continue ReadingOn Clichés and Suffering
Our culture seems to run on tropes, mottos and trite bromides. Cute household signs are one thing, but empty platitudes that fail the common-sense test are another. Many popular slogans offer nonsensical advice such as, “you can be anything you want to be” (anything?), “follow your bliss” (what if that’s heroin?), and “manifest it into existence” (try manifesting someone back from the dead). Here’s another: “God will never give me more than I can handle.” But…is that true?
Continue ReadingGetting to Heaven
Recently I had an outpatient procedure involving fast-acting anesthesia. As the anesthesiologist put the medicine in my IV line, she said it might burn a bit. Less than 5 seconds later, I remember a tingly sensation as though I were fading away like Homer Simpson disappearing into the shrubs, or Captain Kirk dissolving into millions of energy particles in the Enterprise transporter. When I awoke it seemed like only moments had passed.
Continue ReadingSeasons of Change
Autumn is the quintessential season of change. A chill is the air, backyard bonfires fill our noses with the smell of smoke and leaves turn beautiful shades of yellow, orange and red. Then they fall, creating dry, crunchy piles on the ground, leaving stark profiles of empty, barren trees. It’s a beautiful time, or perhaps a melancholy time for those of us reluctant to let go of summer.
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