My Grandma was an amazing person. I will never forget her; that would be impossible. So much of me, and who I am as a young woman, is because of her powerful influence. She watched me take my first breath as I entered this world, and I watched her take her last breath as she left it. She has lived with me from day one, for my entire life. The first thing I did every morning for as long as I can remember was to go say good morning to her. And she has been such a strong inspiration of… Read More
My grandson, Sam, died last year when his moped was struck by an oncoming vehicle. I was completely devastated. But I have found a very unique, and healing, way to honor his memory. Sam was a high school sophomore, and he and his buddies would sometimes go out for breakfast to a local diner before school. When we were talking one day, Sam told me, “The diner’s food has nothing on you, Grandma. You make the best breakfast.” So I casually said, “Why don’t you come to my house with your friends sometime and I’ll make them breakfast.” He loved the idea… Read More
I’m a widower. A father to two girls who lost their mom over a year and a half ago. A husband who lost his bride and helpmate. I’ve been allowed to walk through some really heavy, but undeniably rich moments over the past six years. That might sound strange, but it sets the stage to start to talk about things like suffering, hope and living life. I’ve seen God be an ever-present help in time of need by providing for physical needs, emotional outlets and spiritual resiliency. I’ve seen Him be incredibly tender toward my family, especially as we walked through… Read More
I was 30 years old when my wife, Lyndsie, went home to Heaven after a 10-year battle with cancer, leaving me with two young kids. I walked out of that Emergency Room on August 28, 2015 without her, wondering how I would explain to our kids that their momma would not be coming home. I couldn’t believe this was my reality. In the weeks that followed, I was surrounded by people who loved me and my kids well. They sat with me, listened, brought meals, wrote encouraging notes, sent gift cards and helped with the kids. It was clear that our… Read More
On March 17, 2017, the unthinkable happened. We lost our only son, Justin, to suicide. This after battling a 10-year addiction problem. I can’t even begin to describe the pain, grief, hurt, anger, and depression that followed. I lost my faith in God. Though raised a Christian, I questioned everything I once believed. I’d been praying for God to help Justin, to take away the pain from the addiction, to take away the addiction all together. When we lost Justin, I felt as if my prayers were just ignored. I felt God apparently favored some people over others. I say this because all my life, I had seen prayers… Read More
Our daughter, Jessica Joy Rees, was 11 when doctors discovered she had an inoperable and incurable brain tumor. They told us we would have 12-18 months with her. We were all devastated. We entered her into a very difficult clinical trial where she was subjected to 30 rounds of radiation and a daily dose of chemotherapy. Despite this grueling regimen, Jessie maintained an incredibly positive attitude. After her treatment one day, we were driving away from Children’s Hospital Orange County and she asked about all the sick children in the hospital that didn’t get to go home each day like she did.… Read More
