College has a way of feeling like a reset button. It’s a fresh start, a new adventure, an opportunity to become “Robert” after eighteen years of being “Bobby,” and for Susie to become “Susana.” I’ve stood at the front of a classroom and watched freshmen file in with that unmistakable mix of energy and uncertainty. Some look like they’ve been waiting for this moment their whole lives. Others look...
You won’t have a beautiful marriage merely because you want one. Newlyweds often assume affection will carry them through their married life. It won’t. A wedding plants the seed. It doesn’t grow the garden. This year, my wife and I celebrated eighteen years of marriage. I love being married. But after nearly two decades, I’m more convinced than ever that a good marriage doesn’t grow just because...
The first night we sat down to dinner—my husband, our two sons, and me—after my daughter left for college, I lost it. Her empty seat at the table undid me. It didn’t feel right without her beside me, without her filling the conversation with every detail from her day—the same child who could fill a ten-hour drive home from camp with stories. And without another female at the table, the whole...
“See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!” 1 John 3:1 (NLT) On this Father’s Day, I’m grateful for dads who anchor their children in the love of God—especially those who don’t just talk about God’s love but actually help their kids experience it. There was a time early in my life when my dad showed me what God’s love feels like, and I walked...
My parents recently made the three hour drive to visit with my husband, kids, and me. The day that they were set to go back home, I went to fill up their car with gas. As I backed out of the garage, I heard the sound of scraping metal and the unwelcome clunk of something dislodging. Turns out, I had underestimated just how close the car had been to the side of the garage door. Here I was, a...
