Posts from July 2024
Suffering Well…Through Broken Family Relationships
reflection by Tony K. My sense of loss and suffering is related mainly to familial relationships, including those with my own sons, which have been lost or broken through mental illness, drugs/alcohol, incarceration, and abandonment. This hurts my heart, mostly. Loss is something that comes up in my thoughts daily, not necessarily as an obstruction to moving forward with life, but as brief moments of sadness. This sometimes happens when I look at the success of others, particularly around relationships…
Suffering Well…Through the Valley of Grief
reflection by Kathi G. We do not expect the baby to live more than 24 hours. The baby was our daughter Jessie who had, just hours before, been born with a rare genetic disorder called Trisomy 13. My pregnancy had gone full term with no indications of any problems until Jessie entered the world. From the moment I saw her it was obvious that something severe and serious was happening. But I never thought we’d lose our little girl so…
Suffering Well…Through the Loss of a Child
a reflection by Jessy W. On February 9th, 2023, my third-born son Joshua was delivered via emergency C-section at 26 weeks and 4 days old when I had a placental abruption. By a miracle of God, both of our lives were spared and he was delivered safely and transferred to the NICU where we expected him to stay for the next 11 weeks or so. But over the next several days, he unexpectedly experienced several complications due to prematurity. On…
Suffering Well…Through Long COVID
reflection by Larry T. I’ve learned a lot past two years. In 2021 I got Covid, spent 12 days in the hospital, 5 days in ICU, lost 30 pounds in 2 weeks. When I finally came home, I was completely helpless. I couldn’t get out of bed on my own or do anything on my own. My wife had to do everything. I used a walker and was on oxygen for 7 weeks. Early in my slow recovery I was…