This is an ode To the atypical fathers Who didn’t—couldn’t—have The biological children they wanted. Here’s to the adoptive fathers, The foster fathers, the step-fathers, The sponsor fathers. Here’s to the fathers Of neighbourhood children, Of close family friends’ kids, Of sports teams, Boy scouts and girl guides. Here’s to the surrogate fathers, The ones […]
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The Art of Silence
I live with chronic illness. And God hasn’t healed me. Admittedly, non-healing doesn’t seem to be much of a testimony. Yet God has brought some interesting things out of this illness experience, and perhaps they are worth sharing with you. In particular, I have had to get good at doing nothing whatsoever. My illness has […]
Keep Calm and Keep on Writing
I sit alone on the park bench, watching the world go by. Nearby walkers pass in and out of my field of vision, but I am not watching them. Their chatter, and the chatter of birds, dimly registers in my consciousness. There is a rose garden to my left; from here, I can see the […]
Random Acts of Kindness
Sickness can be lonelifying. Not to mention depressing. So it goes without saying that simple acts of kindness in the midst of sickness can go a long way. I’ve been sick for the past few weeks. This week, while resigning myself to another lonely week of persistent nausea (I’ve got enough nausea to light Sydney […]
Single AND Content? In This Economy?
It’s funny how contentment can shift as time passes. For years, I was content being single. People around me were getting married, having babies, trialling separation. I felt genuinely happy for them (or sympathetic, in the case of separation), without even a glimmer of jealousy or discontentment. Occasionally I felt lonely, living solo in my […]
Roller-Skate While You Can!
‘I have decided,’ announced my psychologist/coach friend, Krystyna Kidson, ‘to make the most of things while I have them. To that end, I’m going to learn to roller-skate!’* We were discussing life with chronic illness and, in particular, I was lamenting the loss of predictability and control. ‘How can I go on,’ I moaned, ‘when […]
Alternative Dates for Valentine’s Day
I have never liked Valentine’s Day. Not when I was single. Not now that I am married. To me, if you want to show someone you love them, including yourself, there is no reason to wait for a commercially driven fest like Valentine’s Day. You just do it. When I was single, I did just […]
Writing Tribe
I love my tribe of writers. We meet once every couple of months with local fellow writers, and we have an international conference every year. We are Christians of all ages, all personality types, and all writing genres. I suppose some would consider this group an extra commitment, like a chore. But for me, it’s […]
Spiritual Children
‘To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.’ (1 Timothy 1:2) What will I see when I get to heaven? I am curious about what heaven will be like and the people I will meet there. I am sure I’ll see old […]
Single, Lonely…and Content?
Have you ever been told you should be content with being single? Has anyone promised you that as soon as you find contentment, your spouse will magically appear? These might sound like rhetorical questions, but I genuinely want to know. Because when I was single and lonely and frustrated about it, I was flooded with […]