Blog
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Gratitude for 30 years
January 20, 1996, Melinda Johnson and I were married at St. Elizabeth’s in Farragut, TN. The day was clear and cold, blue skies and sub-freezing temperatures. Melinda was absolutely beautiful in her wedding dress (which I was to learn later was held together by safety pins–the alterations were not sewn as well as they should… Continue reading
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10,000 Days
A few months ago, a friend of mine recommended downloading an app that can count up from a date in the past, telling you how many days it’s been since that date. He said that looking at the number of days since his first wife died not as how many days since the last time… Continue reading
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AI Is No Cure for Loneliness
I am not a prophet, nor the son of a prophet, but believe that this post carries prophetic weight. A Rolling Stone article I read recently has had me thinking and has prompted me to write a caution to anyone who might want to use ChatGPT or any other AI as a means to assuage… Continue reading
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Celebration of Life Isn’t Enough
I wrote the following 10 years ago today, after the funeral of an infant. May her memory be eternal! Today sharpened for me why I think a “celebration of life” is nowhere near as helpful or as healing to the soul as a straight-out, honest-to-God (and honest-to-ourselves) funeral. Today at St. Anne’s we buried an… Continue reading
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Pascha! And then…
Pascha is the apex of Christian worship. It is the Queen of Feasts, the ultimate joy that we share. Orthodox christians around the world gather shortly before midnight Saturday night in order to begin the services as early in the day of Sunday as possible, and we sing and pray for 3 hours. And then… Continue reading
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The Mother of God
Today (May 3) is Good Friday on the Orthodox calendar. What better day to meditate on the Cross than this? This year my heart is drawn to the Theotokos, the Mother of God. In particular, a reality that I should have seen years before, but I’d never connected the dots, nor heard anyone else do… Continue reading
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“Time heals all wounds!” Oh, please…
Dear Griever, Perhaps someone (or many someones) has said to you “time heals all wounds.” Perhaps you’ve said it to someone else (in which case, forgive me for what I’m about to say). Ahem. BS. Time does not heal all wounds. Rather, time gives you the opportunity to work out the healing (or not). The… Continue reading
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The Alchemy of Grief
The Elixir Teach me, my God and King, In all things Thee to see, And what I do in anything To do it as for Thee. Not rudely, as a beast, To run into an action; But still to make Thee prepossest, And give it his perfection. A man that looks on glass, On it may stay his eye; Or if he pleaseth,… Continue reading
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Ready or Not…
After one of the premarital counseling sessions Melinda and I had with Fr. Stephen Freeman, he commented as we were leaving that, barring the unusual circumstances where a husband and wife die together, one spouse will survive the other. He certainly didn’t need to repeat it later when Tracy and I met with him for… Continue reading
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Widowed Parent Relief Project
A few months ago brother widower Mathew Bradley, host of the Solo Dad Podcast and the Solo Dad Facebook page, posted a message about an outreach organization in the Knoxville area called the Widowed Parent Relief Project. No sooner did I find their web page than I was messaging the founder for more information and… Continue reading
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Same song, second verse…
I’ve been absent from writing for quite a while now. It’s been difficult to do a lot of things that aren’t strictly necessary. I’ve kept my kids and myself fed, dressed, and housed, and I’ve gotten us to appointments and obligations, mostly on time. I’ve gotten myself to work. Apart from that, not much else.… Continue reading
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Behold, the Bridegroom comes at midnight…
I hadn’t planned to write during Holy Week. Between work during the day and church services every evening this week, as well as chauffeur duties for the kids, plus planning for food for the feast (Tracy’s savory cheesecake!), I had figured I would write something after Pascha, either during Bright Week or the week after.… Continue reading
The Joyful Widower 