There is an old Chinese tale about a woman whose only son died. In her grief, she went to the holy man and said, "What prayers, what magical incantations do you have to bring my son back to life?" Instead of sending her away or reasoning with her, he said to her,...
My father passed away suddenly when I was fifteen, and well I remember the stunned disbelief of family and friends at the loss of a vibrant, gifted husband and dad. In my memory, the funeral was surreal and muted; the still, pale figure in the coffin could not be the...
A few years ago, there was an unexpected, unpredicted snowfall in some areas of West Tennessee. Stacy Hayes remembers it well. "It had never snowed this late in the year in my memory," she says. "Daily temperatures were already over 70 degrees." The snow stayed for...
I met Debbie a couple of years ago. Soon thereafter she began to have a limp. Her boss sent her to get an MRI, They believed she had a stroke. Months later her symptoms were getting worse. At this time I was unemployed. Suddenly I got this job that provides medical...
Can I Ever Forgive Myself?Grief affects people in different ways. Some grow closer to their family members, others push those close to them away because of their perspective of the circumstances.I found myself at odds with my cousin after the death of her dad. Any...
The mattock cut into the ground again and again. Every time I raised it I slammed it down even harder. It felt as heavy in my arms as my broken heart did in my chest. Still, I powered through the pain and finished loosening up the dirt. I tossed the mattock aside,...
There was nothing remarkable about this particular winter's day when the memory of Jo wrapped itself around me. I stood at my kitchen window watching the sparrows, all fluffed up by winters frosty breathe, fluttering to the feeder snatching seeds with their tiny...