“Some people just seem to get a larger dose of suffering.” Ashley was sitting in the passenger seat as we drove away from a day in the city taking in a Frida Khalo exhibit, a little giddy about our brief reprieve from pandemic lockdowns. She was raised by an addict and had then lost this parent at an early age. Ashley has become very familiar with suffering, much of it borne from a childhood of...
If you have kids and know how they make all sorts of requests, then you’ll also know the favorite parental answer: “Maybe; we’ll see.” When one of our sons was four and received this reply, he said to my wife, “Just say, ‘Yes,’ mom—that’s much better.” Yet saying “No,” often feels like better parenting. I find myself occupied with protecting my kids from whatever might harm them. We’re vigilant...
While “Help Wanted” signs dot the landscape, there are no volunteers in higher demand than in our Sunday morning children’s ministry. Ask any children’s ministry director to list their top three needs, and they are sure to say, “We could use a few more volunteers.” If your ministry is like ours, it seems every time we get a new worker or two, someone else is leaving our team. But rather than be...
Did you know that honesty and truth telling are part of living a blessed life (Psalm 34:12–13)? But we still lie. Why is that? Often it’s because we want to hide something. “I don’t want you to see this”—is the logic of most lies. Those who lie usually believe they have done something wrong; or they believe someone will be displeased with what they have done, or both. The wrong might be...
The person you are going to meet with may be older than you. Or younger than you. Perhaps they are from a different part of the country—or from another country. It may be a spouse in distress or a person who is contemplating a major life decision. Given the vast differences in people and situations, no single approach always applies the first time you sit down with someone to offer help. Even so...
