Posts Tagged ‘sharing your story’
The Care and Compassion of a Chaplain
By: Ann-Marie Ferry I am not sure where the thought originated from, but it popped out of my mouth and found its way into the hospital air, “Should we baptize him?” I asked. Jon and I did not entertain the thought for long. After all, neither of us believed in Infant Baptism. Why would we…
Read MoreWhen Our Heart’s Hurt: Unveiling The Face Of Grief
By: Ann-Marie Ferry A few years back my husband and I decided to take the dull winter months of the Midwest to read to each other in the evenings. I am a lifelong fan of C.S. Lewis. The Chronicles of Narnia, Mere Christianity, and The Screwtape Letters are among my favorites. My husband, Jon, is…
Read MoreThe Gift of Perspective
By: Sharon Schumack I recently read a magazine article about aging constructively that asked its readers the following questions: What were some of the most challenging experiences in your life? How did you get through them? What pushed you forward? I didn’t have to think very hard. The answers popped into my head immediately. The…
Read MoreFacing Grief Together
By: Ann-Marie Ferry In the days following Kuyper’s stillbirth I grieved visibly through tears and sobs. My husband, Jon, remained stoic, emotionally detached from the reality which we faced. We went on this way for several weeks following delivery. After a long day at work, he walked through our front door, outraged, talking about a…
Read MoreThanksgiving Onesies
By: Ann-Marie Ferry Brilliant sunbeams awaken my eyes. It is a beautiful May day and I have a mission. The night before I scoured the local papers and the internet for garage sale’s advertising baby cloths. Coffee and cash in hand I charge (waddle) out the front door and into my petite Ford Focus. My…
Read MoreKindred Strangers
By: Ann-Marie Ferry I never saw it coming. Tear soaked face. Thrown together carry-on. Royal blue, malodorous, Grey’s Anatomy scrubs. I must have been a sight that day. Sitting among strangers, waiting for the plane, I prayed, “Lord, I need an everyday miracle. Please sit me next to another Christian I can pray with during…
Read MoreYour Love Is Legendary
By: Ann-Marie Ferry Mother Bear first noticed the faint smell of smoke that morning as she wandered about her home of skyward reaching trees, brambles, berries, and trickling streams. She paid it no heed. Her two cubs wrestled about in the underbrush, ear gnawing, rollie pollies that would jump to a battling bear stance at…
Read MoreThe Deep Roots of Legacy
By: Ann-Marie Ferry “Tough it out.” “Don’t cry.” Don’t be a girl.” We have been told for years that to show pain, or to speak of it, is weakness. We are the children of stoicism. The American roots run deep into this ancient philosophy. At the heart we know something is wrong with it but…
Read MoreSailing
By: Ann-Marie Ferry Twenty-five feet of crystal-clear water rolled between the pier where I stood and the smooth, colorful boulders on the lake floor. I was enchanted by this simmering window into aquatic life, mesmerized, in my own world. “Ann-Marie, the line is moving,” a voice called out. My parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents,…
Read MoreAn Artistic Walk Through Grief
By: Ann-Marie Ferry The suddenness of grief is disorienting. It leaves us grappling for a way, a path to walk. We as bereaved parents had no choice. Grief came and we did our best. We kept waking up. We kept on. Our paths all look a little different, but the emotions often feel so familiar.…
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