Sometimes, I look at you and can’t make sense of how much time has already passed… even though nothing seemed to really change day by day. I see you now while I still see you then, and I’m starting to see who you are becoming. The bigger you get, the more you start to pull… Continue reading Dear son…
When is the last time you really stepped out of your comfort zone? Have you felt prompted to do something but you talked yourself out of it? What’s holding you back? I believe more than anything else, fear holds us back. Fear of rejection. Fear of judgment. Fear of failure. Fear of embarrassment. Fear of… Continue reading Just take the step.
I keep hearing it - “I can’t wait for things to go back to normal.” “When things are normal again...” What “normal” is everyone is longing for? Seeing family and celebrating holidays together. Having birthday parties and baby showers and weddings. Worshipping in packed sanctuaries together. Having the freedom to take the kids to the… Continue reading When things go back to normal.
On this day last year, I got a phone call at work. It was a nurse from my doctor’s office, telling me that my baby girl’s genetic screening came back with a positive marker for Down syndrome. She wanted me to come in for more tests and follow up with the “high risk” doctor. I… Continue reading Choose hope.
When we pray for peace, what does that mean? When we pray for protection, for healing, for God to bless us... what are we really praying for? When we say “Lord, thy will be done,” how often do we try to define what that should look like? I think sometimes “answered prayers” can be equated… Continue reading We are not immune.
A little over a week ago, my in-laws were traveling back from Europe. We made jokes before they left about avoiding the plague and I said I’d be scanning their foreheads upon their return. It didn’t seem as serious a week ago. Then, things changed... and they changed quick. They keep changing, almost hour to… Continue reading Temporary.
It’s amazing how such a short phase of life can feel like your whole life. I’ve been alive for 34 years now. That sounds like a long time (to me). I’ve only been a mom for 4 of those years (a short time, relatively speaking). Yet those 4 years define who I am more than… Continue reading They won’t remember, but I will.
You were fresh out of the bathtub, running around and yelling for help finding pajamas. Together, we agreed on the pants with the bears and a Blues t-shirt. "Buddy, Mommy needs to say something to you and it's serious." You sighed. "Don't play with the light saber in the living room, I know, I know."… Continue reading “It’s ok, Mommy.”
January & February: First trimester. Nausea all the time, sleeping all the time. Baby Bottle Campaign & Gala preparations keeping me super busy at work. My 33rd birthday and sharing the news about our addition to the family. We didn’t know the gender yet but I was praying about my pregnancy early on and felt… Continue reading 2019 in review.
I'm sitting across the kitchen table from my grandma. "Do you know who I am," I ask her. She smiles, with no recognition in her eyes. "No... you're a cute young girl, I know that!" My dad chimes in, "this is your granddaughter, Kristen. I'm your son, Jimmy." She shakes her head, confused. "Who? What… Continue reading Dementia took you from us.
Kristen Stewart, Writer 