Category: Personal Testimonies

The race was on and it was a fight to the finish. Each athlete had trained for this momentous occasion in the water. The male S-1 category 500m backstroke swimmers had given it their all at the Tokyo 2020 (21) Olympics! Nevertheless, someone had to come in last place. As the cameras focused on the top-three medalists who were celebrating their individual victories, the last swimmer eventually touched the wall with half an arm. In the Paralympics, the S-1 category has the severest disabilities. These swimmers didn't have legs, and some lacked an arm. Miraculously and courageously, the most disadvantaged swimmer of them all finished dead last with no legs, no arm on one side and only half of an arm on the other side to propel himself. Not a…

HAPPY SUMMER, dear friends! I had written this post almost in its entirety a few months ago and am finally giving time to conclude my thoughts to share with you. I decided since my birthday is TODAY, July 30, I would publish it as a gift for all those who read this blog! These reflections come from my pre-marital days but have been ongoing in my heart and life the past few months; I pray they speak to each of you in a special way. I remember being a young girl so caught up in the passion to travel. I longed to see something exotic and unfamiliar. Every place I visited including Bolivia, Mexico, Spain, Costa Rica, Morocco, Argentina and Ecuador seemed appealing. The people were warm and friendly and…

Those of you reading this have made it to 2021, surviving a pandemic and alive to tell the story! Happy New Year and praise God we are here! TREES OF HOPE 2021! Last year I wrote a blog entitled Your Unwritten Goals preceding the 2020 pandemic. I had no idea what we would face, but I urged us to be open and flexible to what unexpected goals we would encounter; I guess it was somewhat prophetic! Who expected the entire country or world for that matter, to begin some form of homeschooling?! I think most parents didn’t have that on their agendas, nor did we realize how much our daily routines and livelihoods would transform. Some people and businesses may have accomplished more than they dreamed while others have lost…

The holidays are upon us! Christmas and ringing in the new year with family and friends is a magical season. Make no mistake, this year is starkly different. The traditional gatherings have been almost non-existent between family and friends due to this Covid Christmas. Our house, which is usually a revolving door of Christmas visitors, has been shut tightly for now. Even so, I find myself once again desperate for more PEACE and JOY. How can this be, even in the midst of Covid simplicity? Nevertheless, internal panic erupts while I simultaneously try to press on in my own strength. Every day: STOP (what you are doing). SEE (His creation). BE (still): STOP. SEE. BE. "How can I be such a failure?" runs through my mind. "I should have had…

Yesterday was another birthday for me! I got up early and went on a jog. I felt my body responding, finally, after nine months of not being able to run. The thought came into my mind: I'm feeling more like "myself." Just as quickly as that thought entered, I realized being a runner was part of how I defined ME and my identity. Me at 38! I then began to reflect on the local woman in Buffalo who was struck at full speed by a police SUV months ago, and is currently a quadriplegic. I pondered the person she was and contemplated the contrast with the circumstances and physical limitations she is now enduring. In extreme cases, such as hers, when your "identity" seems to be stripped away, what is…

My heart is now broken. Why did it take so long for me to GRIEVE for humanity? I was numb when the coronavirus spread through China, intrigued and concerned when it made its way here, and now that the death toll will be “good” if it hits 100,000-200,000 cases in our country: devastated and emotionally overwhelmed. It finally HIT HOME in more ways than one. The numbers are daunting and chilling. The president of the United States reported that we will be saving at least a million lives potentially if we continue the measures in place. There is no doubt that COVID-19 is a pandemic of epic proportions. Paradise Park in Cuenca, Ecuador Though the coronavirus was on the news, it had not yet made its way around the world.…

The day of the accident she came. Out of nowhere her arms enveloped my weak and broken body when I couldn’t move. Reassurance had arrived, love from God above. The kids were okay, I couldn’t believe it, but there I was lying in the street. I cried out, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, help me!” She echoed every one of my pleas with her own calming voice. The noise of the ambulance, the crowd, the stares, nothing mattered in the next few moments apart from her embrace: her face behind me, her arms around me. My sweat was no deterrent to the many motherly kisses she planted on my head. “I have to go now,” she said, “I am picking someone up. He is with you.” I had to get a glimpse…