Wisdom of the Wounded

Guest Post by Sherri Maat Is your child leaving for college for the first time? How are you coping? As a parent of two boys, we sent our eldest off to college a couple of years ago. I’m here to tell you that it was a huge transition for everyone involved. My son Hunter attends […]

Guest post by Sherri Maat Do you know a friend who is sending a child to college for the first time? Here is the story of when my eldest departed, and the lessons I learned about how to help someone else through this huge life transition. Parenting Your Eldest Child: A Series of “Firsts” I […]

When my granddaughter Anna’s dog Inky was killed, she was heartbroken. I immediately reached out to Anna to provide support. I also wanted to surround her with supportive words from fellow dog-loving family members, so I sent a text to my sister Loretta. What transpired is conversation that unfolded between the two of them that […]

How will you show support in the midst of a loved one’s grief? When someone’s spouse dies by suicide, it’s difficult to know how to help. Here’s one person’s story of pain and how she worked through the grief process: “At approximately 2:00 p.m. on November 2, 1993, my husband took his own life.”  The […]

Ah, summertime. For many of us it means more time outdoors with activities like picnics, ball games, and water time fun. We may think of “caring for others” as a holiday tradition, such as during the Christmas season. But I think that any time of the year is a good time to care for others. […]

It’s terrible to imagine, but sexual abuse of children is more common than you might know. Estimates say that one in four girls and one in six boys will experience some form of sexual assault by the time they are 18 years old. Many survivors of sexual abuse prefer to stay anonymous. But one woman […]

How can we help others find peace during trauma? Santa Barbara, California resident Barbara Gaughen-Muller learned the answer to this question a few weeks before Christmas of 2017. Barbara lives about 10 miles from where the dual natural disasters of the Montecito wildfires and Santa Barbara mudslides occurred. Barbara shares with us how she sought […]

How can you help your teen daughter show that she still cares for her dad? Teen girls are often unsure how to navigate communication with their fathers.  Gone are the days when Dad could elicit giggles with his jokes just by being his own silly self. Most of the time a dad may get only […]

How can you be a friend to a person with a terminal illness? First of all, consider the type of relationship you have with this friend: are you extremely close, or more of an acquaintance? This will help you decide which caring act to display. The ideas below come from several sources, including our book […]

Should we bring a gift to a terminally ill friend?  Kate Bowler, who has stage IV colon cancer, says by all means bring a gift! Kate is an assistant professor at Duke Divinity School and author of the book, Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved.” Kate writes, “Bring me presents. Bring […]