2019 did not start well. I wept with my New Zealand friends when mosques in Christchurch were attacked and almost 50 people lost their lives. Then I cried in disbelief when my sister nearly lost her home.
The church was full: full of faces, food, color and noise. And yet, it somehow felt empty. To an outsider, it may have looked like a party . . . but the one person we were there to honor wasn’t able to celebrate with us.
I wasn’t born when The Karate Kid was first released, but I’m thankful for the many opportunities I’ve had to watch it growing up. It taught me the importance of listening to the wisdom and advice of those who were older and more experienced.
Everyone faces hardships in life, and we often find ourselves broken as a result of them. God finds value in us and in our brokenness. God uses brokenness.
I stood there with a razor in my hand. It was the first time I’d ever seriously contemplated ending my life. I had been in the shower for almost an hour, and I could hear the voices of my mother and sister pleading with me to get out.
Last week, I realized I may be a contender for a world record—the highest number of weddings attended by a single person under the age of 35. I’ve been counting and, although it seems impossible, the number has now reached 207.
I don’t know about you, but when it gets this close to Christmas, I often look at the tinsel, the sparkling lights, and the crowded stores and wonder if I should be engaging in all the hype.
I have a confession to make. I have to Google half the new words I come across these days. If you’re an eighties baby like me, you can probably identify with this.