She stopped eating and looked at me. “Are you serious?” She was more commenting than questioning. “Why would you go see a counselor? They don’t have any wisdom. They can’t help you. Are you depressed?”
Pain Can Give Birth to New Life
December 21, 2022 by
The day my first grandchild, Liam, was born, Linda and I arrived at the hospital and went to my daughter Elizabeth’s room to spend time with her and her husband, Josh. Every two or three minutes, Elizabeth would have a contraction, a passing moment of tension and discomfort.
“Special Diagnosis”
November 9, 2021 by
In a lower desk drawer in his study in Greensboro, Randall maintained a confidential file he labeled “Special Diagnosis.” Recorded within the file were names of individuals who had made him aware of potentially life-limiting health circumstances.
Healing
February 5, 2019 by
Sometimes it’s not just lemons life throws our way. Sometimes life comes at us with a Medieval flail. So, what do we do? Life is certainly no respecter of persons when it comes to trials and tribulations.
Broken Spirits and Dry Bones
May 15, 2018 by
We have a friend in the Bible named Isaiah. God was looking for someone to deliver some hard words to God’s people. Isaiah had an incredible encounter with God involving an angel and some coal (Isa 6). And after this experience, he told the Lord “I’ll go, send me.”
Connections 10.16.2016: Suffering. Praying. And…
October 9, 2016 by
A parishioner had liver cancer. One day, as we sat talking in his den, he told me that he had recently attended a service conducted by an evangelist who claimed to be able to heal the sick.
An Open Letter to My Mental Illness
May 18, 2016 by
I suffer from a mental illness. At times, it can be crippling and debilitating. I just spent some time in the hospital dealing with my illness. One of the doctors knew I was a divinity student and Christian minister and asked me, “Have you lost your faith?”
The Church’s Insufficient Response to Mental Illness
May 11, 2016 by
My church knew some of the problems my mother and our family dealt with as she battled mental illness, but they didn’t really know how to react when I muttered the words, “It was suicide.”