by Marie | Sep 12, 2025 | Archives, Inspiration
You never expect the dreaded phone call that brings earth-shattering news. But your life can change in a moment. I was cleaning up my kitchen this past August when my friend Becky called. “Come right away to the field. Curt’s been hit in the head with a softball and may need medical attention.” My mind raced as I headed across town to the field where the church league was playing. I began to pray a desperate, nonsensical plea for God’s mercy on my husband that became a near-constant prayer for days. When he was sixteen, Curt suffered a severe closed head injury playing indoor soccer. Doctors deemed his situation hopeless and his father had started shopping for a nursing home. God had a different plan. In time, Curt was able to re-learn everything, from walking and talking to reading, writing, and feeding himself. He returned to finish high school, attend college, and marry me. I always thought of him as a walking miracle. Then, two summers ago, he had another freak knock on the head, involving a shoe that came flying off a roller coaster, of all things! That resulted in a slightly scary post-traumatic concussion requiring plenty of rest over a few weeks. Head injuries are accumulative. Curt’s been told by doctors that he must avoid getting hit on
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by Marie | Sep 11, 2025 | Archives, Inspiration
“Your intuition was right,” my friend Sarah said. “Your test is positive – you’re pregnant.” I jolted from the myriad of emotions that swirled within me. In that moment, my world changed forever. Questions flooded my mind: Would I be able to graduate from college in two months? How would the baby’s father respond? What would I do to support a child and myself? Where would I live? However, the most heart-wrenching question was how would I tell my parents? I thought about how hurt and disappointed they would be, and I wanted to crawl into a hole and vanish. How did this happen to someone raised as a pastor’s daughter? My mind wandered to the moment I first met the baby’s father. I was struck by his charisma and he seemed to possess many of the qualities I had wished for in a man. He was athletic and attractive, loved history, and was from a strong and loving Christian home. The friendship started out so innocently. He was going through a difficult time. I listened and offered advice. Before long, we talked about many things and got to know each other. I could hardly wait to get out of class to see if I had a text message or a missed call from him. Because I was emotionally connected to him, it
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by Marie | Sep 10, 2025 | Attitude, Inspiration
A man came to the king’s court seeking a job. He was asked about his qualifications. He replied, “I can tell you about anyone, human or animal, just by looking at their face.” The king was impressed and made him the in-charge of his special horse stable. After a few days, the king asked him about his favorite horse. He replied, “The horse is not of good breed.” The king was surprised and asked the horse’s caretaker, who revealed that the horse’s mother had died at birth, and it was raised by a cow. The king asked the man how he knew the horse wasn’t of good breed. He replied, “When the horse eats grass, it bends down like a cow, whereas a good breed horse picks up the grass and eats with its head held high.” The king was pleased with his observation skills and rewarded him with grains, ghee, chickens, and goats. He was then appointed to the queen’s palace. After some time, the king asked him about the queen. He replied, “She has the manners of a queen, but she is not born into a royal family.” The king’s legs trembled, and he asked his mother-in-law, who revealed that they had adopted a child from another family since their own child had died at six months. The
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by Marie | Sep 9, 2025 | Archives, Inspiration
Time pressed on. Sarah became confined to bed and to the visits that many people gave her. She lost her smile. She lost most of her weight. And then it came: another telephone call. Sarah’s mother asked me to come see her. I dropped everything and ran to the house. There she was, a small bundle that barely moved. After a short examination, I knew that Sarah would soon be leaving this world. I urged her parents to spend as much time as possible with her. That was a Friday afternoon. On Sunday morning church started as usual. The singing, the sermon – it all seemed meaningless when I thought of Sarah. I felt enveloped in sadness. At the end of the sermon, the pastor suddenly stopped speaking. His eyes wide, he stared at the back of the church with utter amazement. Everyone turned to see what he was looking at. It was Sarah! Her parents had brought her for one last visit. She was bundled in a blanket, a dandelion in one little hand. She didn’t sit in the back row. Instead she slowly walked to the front of the church where her vase still perched by the pulpit. She put her flower in the vase and a piece of paper beside it. Then she returned to her parents.
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by Marie | Sep 8, 2025 | Archives, Inspiration
Sarah’s parents were new to town, and she was getting to know her classmates at church. As a second grader, she was full of energy and beaming with naughtiness. As Sarah’s Sunday school teacher, my wife provided me with a limitless supply of funny stories – Monday night dinner was usually served with Sarah’s latest antics. Everyone at church seemed to like her. She was simply an easy kid to fall in love with. One Sunday, my wife had prepared a lesson on being useful. She taught the children that everyone can be useful – that usefulness is serving God, and that doing so is worthy of honour. The kids quietly absorbed my wife’s words, and as the lesson ended, there was a brief moment of silence. Then Sarah spoke up. “Teacher, what can I do?” I don’t know how to do too many useful things.” Not anticipating that kind of response, my wife quickly looked around and spotted an empty flower vase on the windowsill. “Sarah, you can bring in a flower and put it in the vase. That would be a useful thing.” Sarah frowned. “But that’s not important.” “It is,” replied my wife, “if you are helping someone.” Sure enough, the next Sunday, Sarah brought in a dandelion and placed it in the vase. In fact, she
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