Loving our marginalized brothers and sisters as the Savior loved

After spending 19 years as a prisoner, Jean Valjean, one of the lead characters in Victor Hugo’s novel Les Miserables, is released from jail. “Exhausted by a long voyage and dying of hunger and thirst, he arrives in a small town seeking a place to find food and shelter for the night. When the news...

A perfect brightness of hope

August 28, 2018, was arguably the most difficult day of my life. Around 3 am, I was awakened by my husband. I could tell there was something very wrong with him, although he didn't realize it. I wasn't sure what to do so I said a quick prayer. Concerned about his well-being, I did not...

Put your oxygen mask on first

My great-grandma Jessie cared for her sister, my great-aunt Elsie, who was bed-ridden for many years. I remember watching her as a little girl, feeding her, turning her, reading to her, brushing her hair. I recognized it was a great deal of work all those many years ago. But probably not to the extent I...

Why I no longer volunteer

What's really happening ... is not always obvious on the surface. I was recently asked to volunteer for something, and when I declined, I quickly felt the judgmental stares and gossiping whispers from the group directed toward me. I don't volunteer anymore. At least not in the way most people want me to. I don't...

I threw out my expectations and saw my bipolar son become an Eagle Scout

Before my oldest child finished his first basketball practice at the age of five, I knew I needed to re-evaluate the expectations I had as a parent. More specifically, the ones where I hoped he’d follow in my footsteps. There was little more important to me than basketball growing up. It taught me a multitude...

Hunter’s story: the effects of bipolar in children on the family

{Note: I wrote this for a college assignment in 2010 when Hunter was 11 years old. But I continue to share his story to give a voice to others like him and their families.} Tears roll down his cheeks like steady raindrops sliding down a window during a spring thunderstorm. “I HATE YOU, DAD, I...

‘Even the darkest night will end’

  Note: originally written in September 2015. My mental health has taken a beating over the last year or so. I have a physical illness that has really been taking it to me, and as a result, affecting my mental health. I’ve been battling this physical ailment for half of my life. What makes it...