Friday Tidings

It started out as a girlfriend word game over coffee—trying to think of three-word sentences that we hear a lot. “I love you” topped all our lists. We had some fun: Just stop it. I gained weight. I hate that. My boss sucks. You did what? I got fired. Life is tough. She is cute. We laughed and then the conversation turned to kids, life’s struggles, and some of the victories along the way. As I drove home, I thought about some three-word sentences that had changed my life. In college, I met an amazingly loving guy who said: You are beautiful . Three simple words. But this wasn’t about any outward appearances; it was about being loved. Words can bring love, affirmation, and acceptance. I believed him when he said:   I need you . I still remember the warm, spring day when I heard: Please marry me . Those three words were life-changing. But that was only the beginning. Several years later I shared the...

I’m not a political diplomat, but having studied communications and interpersonal relationships, when someone lies and hurls death threats, it effectively ends meaningful discourse.  Welcome to negotiations with Iran—where the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps encourages the “Death to America” chants among the crowds after weekly prayers and during political rallies. To them, the United States, “is still the great Satan and the enemy of the (Islamic) revolution…” Just a couple months ago in the Persian Gulf, the Iranians sent a blazing message when they blew up a full-size model of the U.S.S. Nimitz.  And let’s not ignore the poignant words by the supreme leader’s representative, Ali Shirazi, “When we look at the Islamic world, we see that the culture of the Islamic revolution has reached all countries and all Muslims throughout the world….We shall not rest until we raise the flag of Islam over the White House.” Honestly, does this sound like...

Despite all the years, she still looked good and kept herself in top shape, running nearly every day. She loved life in the fast lane—and all the things that accompanied fast lane living.  There were plenty of rumors about her checkered past, but she never talked, so no one knew for sure how much was true. As she made her way around town, her sexy and sleek features could make heads turn, especially when she deliberately broke the rules. But she wasn’t a fool. She played by the book when authority figures were around. She’d never been the jealous type either. She didn’t care about anyone’s looks but her own. She just wished that time would slow down. She may not have looked that much older, but she felt it.  She got tired more easily and it seemed that youthful upstarts were gaining ground. A few times she let loose just to show them she still could out pace them all. She saw the appreciative glances afterwards. Yep. She sti...

Chandra knew. Mothers are so intuitive. When her daughter came back from a year of travel abroad, the physical changes weren’t from strenuous hiking. Her daughter looked ill. Medical tests followed, and the prognosis was what she feared. Cancer. In the quiet of the early morning when sleep became elusive, Chandra knew she’d lose her daughter. It was an acceptance she didn’t want to make. Chandra’s single motherhood had tested her in many ways. There was never enough money, nor a faithful father for her daughter. In fact, faith in anything seemed pointless until now. Could God really be bigger than cancer? Chandra wanted to know, because her heart couldn’t bear the loss. During the year that followed, which included surgery, chemo, radiation, waiting rooms, and test results, Chandra and her daughter weren’t alone. A prayer request that Chandra had emailed to a church alerted a woman named Joanie, who had a relentless passion to pray. Tracking Chandra and her da...