Coping with Ambiguous Loss by Estrangement

Coping with Ambiguous Loss by Estrangement

I never saw it coming -the cataclysmic argument that triggered my adult son to estrange me three years ago. I might never see it end -the suffering of ambiguous loss of the relationship without closure. Coined by family therapist Pauline Boss, Ph.D., 40 years ago, ambiguous loss refers to unresolved […]

What is emotional pain

What is Emotional Pain?

It’s a long way from there to there. Stuck in the middle, we have emotional pain, but we can also have presence. A comfort to the pain of now. They wanted some relief. It wasn’t so much the highs and lows of a roller coaster; it was more like dragging […]

but trouble comes

But Trouble Comes 

Trouble comes. It’s nothing new, but we have the assurance of others, so we hold on tight and ride our way through it. You can see it coming. You’re sailing along. Life seems to be going along ok, but out on the horizon, you can see a storm. You know […]

And It Just So Happened

And It Just So Happened

 times, it can seem like God isn’t with us, but God is there with, ‘and it just so happened’ moments to bring about a larger story going on.  I often listen to people’s stories and wonder where God is in them. Often the stories tell of mess. There is brokenness, […]

hte power of love

The Power of Love

When you’re depressed or in a psychotic crisis, it’s normal to believe our negativity is everything there is, but the power of love and light is a constant we can tap into. Guest post by Sónia Monteiro Pop culture immortalized this sequence of words that gives title to at least two […]

Absolute Responsibility Needs Absolute Forgiveness

Absolute Responsibility Needs Absolute Forgiveness

Taking absolute responsibility for your actions can be overwhelming, but hope can be restored when absolute forgiveness is offered.  I don’t like it, and I’m sure you don’t either. It’s when you’re confronted with something you have done wrong. You want to run; you want to hide. Perhaps you make excuses, blame […]

A life controlled by lies

A Life Controlled by Lies

Events happen in life, and we can get controlled by the lies we believe as truth, but there is hope.  It is a memory seared into my brain. I’m at an age now I can’t remember what I had for breakfast, but this is among those memories that I doubt […]

A Simple First Place Prayer secpnd

A Simple First Place Prayer

Your pain is legitimate, and second-place prayers reveal the need, but first-place prayers must always come first, so we pray a simple prayer.    Simple sounds easy. Requiring little effort. First place. It’s where we put the best, second-place things go behind first-place things. There is an order—first place, then […]

God, I Still Have Doubts

God, I Still Have Doubts

There are times when I have doubts. I question God, and I wonder. But over the years, I have built up a memorial of stones that reassure my soul. I have questions. I have doubts. Places in my thinking where I question what I have taken to be true. Evidence […]

Sitting in the Mental Health Shadow of an Eclipse

Sitting in the Mental Health Shadow of an Eclipse

A shadow passed over them. An eclipse shadow of the soul, but I didn’t want them to be alone, so I sat and listened to the darkness.  The light slowly changed. What was the middle of the day seemed more like dusk, but I looked at my watch, and sure […]