Christmas is a joyous season for most of us. It's a season of joy; a time to enjoy family and friends; a time to be happy. But what if it’s also a season to grieve? What if you're in a season of grief this Christmas? Grief comes to all of us. Grief is an intense [...]
One beautiful, sunny African afternoon, my life changed forever. For two years, I had asked my gynaecologist for a mammogram. For two years, he had told me it wasn't necessary. Finally another specialist sent me for a "routine mammogram and ultrasound" which turned out to not be as routine as I'd hoped. I had breast [...]
This is the desperate letter from my friend that started it all (used with her permission). Hi Aldyth This is just a very quick email to ask for your help. Since I have had the news of the cancer I am a wreck and in tears at the drop of a hat, which is definitely not [...]
I have lived in Ghana, Zambia and Burkina Faso for the last 12 years. We originally moved to Ghana because my husband accepted a position with a company there. Because we were going to Ghana, I went for a full medical check-up, which included a mammogram. To my horror, I found out that I had [...]
Sometimes God seems far away Have you noticed that even when we’ve made the decision to put our trust fully in God, there are still times when things go wrong and God seems far away? Remember the last time the storm rolled in and hit you head on. Maybe it was a frightening doctor’s report, a lost [...]
We are all afflicted with a common malady—loneliness. A couple of years ago, I went to a picnic where I was the only person present who did not know a single soul. All about me, old friends seemed to be delighted to be together. And while I am usually a sociable being who enjoys making [...]
I was out in the village yesterday, sitting on a mat on the floor of the church structure, when the young man who was teaching started reading from the book of Matthew. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn [...]
I don’t know about you, but change is not my favourite thing. I think we all have some resistance to change, especially if it is unforeseen change. I think it’s a vulnerability thing. We see ourselves as vulnerable when there is change in and around our lives and we feel it puts us at risk [...]
Our eldest son, Cameron, was born blind I had seen the dragon of suffering at a distance. Smelt the smoke when it spat fire on other people’s lives. But the first time it breathed ugly in my face was when our eldest son, Cameron, was born blind. When I look back on the days and [...]
You’ve probably read the story of Hannah in the Bible (see 1 Samuel chapter 1). Hannah was a woman who struggled with perseverance not only physically, but emotionally as well. The Bible tells us God had closed her womb. Her husband Elkanah had another wife, Peninnah, who in turn had several children. This meant that [...]
