There Are Good Things Here

In these two entries from early 2015 (dated January 12 and 14), Katie laments how judgmental she feels as a parent. She has been hard on our son's faults while ignoring her own. She considers the example of the father in the parable of the prodigal son and expresses how much she wants to be generous, rather than judgmental. She also journals about an encouraging word on parenting from a friend. Yo...

Katie did not shy away from the fatigue and fear that were her constant companions during her years of living with cancer. She was open to the Lord about her fears, her longings, and her concerns. She felt keenly her inadequacies as a mom living with cancer."I don't know how to handle any of this—and how do you handle it when you don't ever feel well?" I would suggest that one of the ways she hand...

Katie managed the pressure she felt to write by writing ... in her journal. Anytime you write something for others to read, there’s a bit of felt pressure that sneaks in with it. Katie’s journals, of course, were her private prayers and meditations. She also kept up a blog for many years on Caring Bridge. Many of you probably kept up with her life story there. In fact, I encourage you to visit her...

This was one of Katie's final journal entries, written about two weeks before she passed away. When Katie wrote the journal entry featured in today's podcast, she was dying from cancer but growing in faith. You can actually see the toll cancer was taking by observing her unsteady handwriting. With about two weeks to live, however, she was steadying her heart by expressing her trust in her Savior a...