Goodbyes are Awful {The Grove: Goodbye}
I was ten years old for my first, genuine goodbye. Our church prayed for us before we left for our initial move to Mongolia. I sobbed on the sanctuary...
Category: Grief/Loss
The Guilt of Leaving
At age 21, I moved from Michigan to Cape Town, South Africa, for what I thought would be five months abroad. About two months into my stay, I...
Dealing With Guilt From Afar
The Christmas-y pillow with a snowman looked vaguely familiar as I picked it up from the sofa in the community room. Then I saw the name fixed securely in...
When God Shifts Your Call
Have you ever lost sight of your call? Sometimes I look back at our years of support raising and think about our naivety. We were so sure...
Made in China
I used to think that I wasn’t a person who was so attached to “place.” When I went away to college my horizons were broadened and a wanderlust was planted...
The Shadow of Death
I rushed home as soon as I heard the news. My brain still woozy with jet-lag and reverse culture-shock, I stood with my siblings and cousin in front of my...
Permission to Feel
I find wisdom in the pages of a children’s book. A simple picture book about a dog losing a ball. Each page a watercolor masterpiece of a simple story of...
My Christmas Mom
As our twenty-fourth Christmas overseas approached, an overwhelming sadness shrouded me. Shouldn’t it get easier with time? We arrived to Central America on December 28, 1991 with a babe in...
For They Shall Be Comforted
If it’s all right with you I would like to tell you a story. A story that I have, as of yet, never been able to tell anyone face to...
Homesickness Feels Uncannily Like Grief
Like something has been taken. Like life is not in your control. The first time I felt gut-wrenching homesickness was in Guatemala. Desperate for change, physically, financially,...
