Every summer, right after school gets out, we head down to the beach for our summer break. During one recent trip, I was driving into town early one morning to pick up a few things for breakfast. The drive is about four miles long with a sidewalk that runs along one side of the road. […]
I have a 104 year-old grandmother, Nonni.* Until recently, she lived by herself. Whenever I would go to visit her, I was always struck by how simple a life she lived compared to me. She lived in a tiny, one bedroom apartment with only a bed and a few pieces of furniture. She does not […]
About a year after my divorce was final, I moved fifteen miles into a more modest home. It was a really big step overall. I was moving my three young kids to a new neighborhood and new schools. I was moving into a house that needed a fair amount of remodeling. Plus, I hadn’t even […]
When my divorce hit, it was as if I was run over by a freight train. I hardly knew what hit me. I was confused, disoriented, and could barely think long enough to decide what color socks to wear. It was that bad. My instinctual reaction was to turn to God. That was good. However, […]
During my divorce I heard all kinds of ridiculous lies about me from my ex’s inner circle. Listening to them, you would have thought I was a maniacal, substance abusing, child beating, deadbeat. Sometimes, I found myself worrying that the judge might actually believe some of those blatant lies. I was in a custody battle […]
The low point in my divorce came on Christmas morning, about two months after my divorce was filed. I actually got a call from my attorney; he wanted to discuss some aspect of my divorce (he didn’t celebrate Christmas since he was Jewish). I remember getting off that call and thinking, “I will be so […]
A woman recently told me that her biggest fear is she would die alone with just her cats. Her view of the future just seemed to communicate a deep sense of hopelessness. It makes me think of what the souls in Hell must have felt before Christ came and freed them. They had nothing to […]
“Realizing I had no other choice, I lifted the dryer and turned it upside down and out dropped my cellphone,” Sara said as she described how she solved the dilemma of her cellphone falling down the dryer’s lint vent. This would be surprising enough if a burly football player-type had said it, but this was […]
Do you think that you’re not getting God’s attention by your prayers? We pray heart-felt prayers for intentions that we feel certain God should answer. We pour out our hearts day after day, yet we feel as though nobody is listening. Sometimes we wonder if God even cares. Well, consider the story of St. Monica. St. […]
“I hope he rots in Hell!” the woman (let’s call her Marge) sitting in front of me said, her voice filled with bitterness. I sat and listened attentively for the next fifteen minutes as she described in vivid detail all the nasty things her ex did and all the pain he brought into her life. Listening […]