Yesterday, my daughter called me frustrated. She’s in a naval training program, and because she’s far from home, opportunities to spend time with family are precious. One of her instructors had given her a hard time about trying to see her family while they were in town, and she was struggling not to be angry. At one point, she asked me: “How do I not be so angry at someone? Jesus calls us to love, but I don’t want to love this person.” I didn’t have some profound answer ready to go, but I told her something I’ve always believed: Show kindness even when it isn’t deserved. Not because the other person earned it. Not because they’re right. But because kindness says more about your character than theirs. Later, I told my husband about the conversation. His response was… let’s just say he wasn’t nearly as charitable toward the instructor as I had been. I laughed and said, “Well, it’s a good thing she called me and not you.” At the time, I felt pretty good about my response. The...
In 2006, my husband was diagnosed with cancer. I can still remember hearing the news, and feeling like the floor had disappeared beneath me. Fear, uncertainty, and countless "what if" questions filled that season of our lives. What made it even more frightening was that the doctors weren't entirely sure what they were dealing with. Because of his previous battle with melanoma years earlier, they feared the worst. As we sat there listening, all I could hear was that my husband might not be here much longer. I felt our future had suddenly become very short. As if that wasn't enough, life kept piling on. During that same season, I found out I was pregnant with our son. While trying to process the possibility of losing my husband, I was also carrying a new life. Then came another blow. I was laid off from my job. Cancer. Pregnancy. Unemployment. It felt like one wave after another. Yet, even in the middle of all that uncertainty, God was at work in ways we couldn't s...