“He died?” Tears fill our four-year-old’s eyes, and I am tempted to jump straight into the next story in the children’s Bible, the one where the women find the tomb empty, the one where kind and merciful Jesus looks into the face of His friend, Mary, who recognizes Him by the way He calls her … Continue reading We Wait in Hope

It has been ten years since my feet first stepped onto this red dirt to call this place home. A decade. Something about that word makes it sound like a very long time. Sometimes, it feels like a very long time, but sometimes it feels like only a blink. Ten years ago I moved across … Continue reading A Decade

The night before our baby boy’s first birthday, Benji and I sat at the local Italian restaurant and reminisced over every detail of his little life. We recounted the day of his birth, the exact place in our room where he was born, the way his hands seemed too big for his tiny body, the … Continue reading Birth

This year has been different. For months before marriage God spoke to my heart of new things, prepared my soul to cling to His promise, “Behold, I am doing a new thing.” This seemed obvious. Of course, marriage was new, learning to share leadership in our home was new, having someone to share everything with … Continue reading A New Thing

It seems to be the lament of many adoptive mothers I meet, “I didn’t really feel it.” Somewhere along the line, adoption has become associated with the myth of “love at first sight.” I surely cannot say that no one feels this, but I can say that not everyone does, and not everyone has to. … Continue reading To the Mom Who Doesn’t Feel Like a Mother, Yet (and the other moms too!)

He looked into their eyes, both of them. He shouldn’t have even been talking with the woman at the well because of her race. The woman with the issue of blood shouldn’t have even been near Him because of her uncleanliness. I shouldn’t even be allowed to approach Holy God because of my sin. But … Continue reading To Feel His Gaze on Us

It is rainy season again. My friend and I slip and slide down the muddy hill to Masese where we weekly study the word with a group of women who have become so dear to us. Every Tuesday we come, joyful and overflowing, or broken and weary, or anything in between and we don’t have … Continue reading Waiting on Him

            For years, I have prayed Isaiah 61 over my family, asking the Lord to give beauty for ashes, asking Him to indeed grow these daughters of mine into oaks of righteousness, a planting for the display of His splendor. I have cried tears straight into the words “freedom for captives” as I begged this … Continue reading A New Name