Life's Love Letter: A Letter to My Life

Oh, so many years ago, a little boy and his best friend walked into my kindergarten classroom. They were inseparable—two tiny souls navigating the world side by side. At the time, I had no idea how deeply those two boys, especially one named Sean, would change my life forever. Sean looked like every other child in my classroom—floppy hair, a contagious laugh, and a smile that could light up even the hardest days. But behind that smile was a warrior. Sean was fighting cancer… for the second time. He had already beaten it once. This was his rematch. I reached out to his mom, Kim, wanting to understand how best to support him. And when I met her, I immediately saw where Sean got his light. Kim carried strength in a way that didn’t shout—it quietly radiated. She wasn’t defeated or fearful. She believed in her son with every ounce of her being. I shared with her that my own son was battling a life-threatening illness. There was an unspoken understanding between us—the delicate balance of wa...

  Give God His Job Back This morning started out simply enough. I helped my mom bring her beautiful artwork to the ballroom where it will be displayed this weekend. Afterward we went to a little café for breakfast. I had a new cleaning company coming to the house later, so I needed to be home by noon. At first, I thought I had plenty of time. But the café was busy. The servers were overwhelmed, and things were moving slowly. As the clock ticked closer to noon, I felt the pit growing in my stomach. You know the one—that anxious feeling when things aren’t going according to plan. Finally, I called the cleaning company to see if I could move the appointment. Before anyone could even answer, I received a text message. They were running late and wouldn’t arrive until 1:00. I literally sighed out loud. Relief washed over me. I finished breakfast with my mom and started the drive home. Because I had the GPS on, I couldn’t play my music. So I did something else. I talked to God. And it su...

Today I went for a walk. Like I usually do, I had my headphones in and was listening to my “heavy rotation” of love songs. And then it came on. Endless Love by Lionel Richie . That song stopped me in my tracks. It wasn’t the wedding song I shared with John. It was the wedding song from my first marriage. We’ll call him Tiny — because that’s what we call him. When I really listened to the lyrics today, I realized something. At 21 years old, I truly believed that song described the kind of love we would have. It talks about your first and only love… the kind that lasts forever. What the song doesn’t mention is reality. It doesn’t talk about the plans that will never happen. It doesn’t talk about the life that never unfolds the way you imagined. There is a feeling of unfairness in that. Tiny lost the right to be a husband and a father. He didn’t get to dance with his daughter at her wedding. He didn’t get to walk her down the aisle. And every single day, I thank God that John stepped up...