Karl & Liesl Kranich

Many of you have been praying that we would be able to sell our house in Orlando–God has answered!  This weekend a contract was signed, and we look forward to closing on June 6.  The timing is great for us, since we’re hoping that our new house in Indiana will be done in early June.  We would certainly appreciate your continued prayers for the selling, building, and moving processes.  We’ve never done anything like this!

We also wanted to let you know about a bunch of things that we’ve been adding to our web site.  On the list of links to the right, we’ve added new sections of resources about umbilical cord blood donation and dealing with infertility and loss.  Up top (and on the “Pages” list), you’ll see a new link to a page about Keynote that includes a bunch of videos.  We’ve also updated the “Family Photos” — you can even watch our house being built by clicking on the “Matterhorn Drive” set.  Feel free to check out anything you’re interested in.

This was sent to me a few months after the loss of my last baby. It was especially meaningful to me because it came from a stranger (her church is part of our support team) and because I had been having thoughts like this (about how I could seem like everyone else most of the time and in a second be grieving again) for the first time that week and had been wondering about if I would ever be “normal” again. It was a powerful moment for me to be reminded of God’s immediacy in my life and his caring for me through other believers. Even in loss, I feel truly blessed. Liesl

Why does it have to hurt so much?

You go about your business every day, doing what you normally do, and smiling at people around you. Then when you least expect it, the sadness is back.

You look at a stranger, or overhear a conversation, or remember a time, and suddenly the tears come again. And you wonder if this will ever stop.

You listen to people chatting and whining about petty things. You’re tempted to blurt out, “Don’t you realize what’s really important?” But you say nothing.

You hear people complain about their kids. You want to say, “Don’t you realize how lucky you are?” But you keep quiet.

Someone remarks, “At least you have another child to enjoy.” Your head knows that. But your heart feels an emptiness for the dream that was lost and the unique person you will never have a chance to know.

It seems everywhere you go, there’s another happy young couple or an expectant mother, and you wonder again why life is so unfair.

People ask, “How are you doing?” You’re tempted to tell the truth … but you don’t want to make them uncomfortable or force them to deal with sad things today. So you say, “I’m fine.”

Does anyone really understand?

God does. He knows exactly what you are feeling. And He’s always ready to listen and help you through it, whatever “it” is.

Some people do understand. They know how it feels when a part of you is gone. Even after months and months have passed, and you still would like to talk about it, remember these people. They really want to be there for you, and they will listen.

You never forget. But you realize that’s OK, because why would you want to forget the love you felt for a precious part of you?

A time comes when you realize the good days outnumber the bad, when the tears don’t come as often, when you can smile and really be smiling on the inside, too. But now, that time seems far off.

Why does it have to hurt so much?

I’m reading Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology with a group of guys, and I was really encouraged by this paragraph about metaphors for the church.  The ideas are explained more in the rest of the chapter.  It’s definitely worth reading!

Each of the metaphors used for the church can help us to appreciate more of the richness of privilege that God has given us by incorporating us into the church.  The fact that the church is like a family should increase our love and fellowship with one another.  The thought that the church is like the bride of Christ should stimulate us to strive for greater purity and holiness, and also greater love for Christ and submission to him.  The image of the church as branches in a vine should cause us to rest in him more fully.  The idea of an agricultural crop should encourage us to continue growing in the Christian life and obtaining for ourselves and others the proper spiritual nutrients to grow.  The picture of the church as God’s new temple should increase our awareness of God’s very presence dwelling in our midst as we meet.  The concept of the church as a priesthood should help us to see more clearly the delight God has in the sacrifices of praise and good deeds that we offer to him (see Heb. 13:15 - 16).  The metaphor of the church as the body of Christ should increase our interdependence on one another and our appreciation of the diversity of gifts within the body.  Many other applications could be drawn from these and other metaphors for the church listed in Scripture.

The latest issue of Focus on the Family Magazine contains a great article by Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler that compares the traditional and current definitions of “tolerance”, and explains in a clear way why the new tolerance leads to a condemnation of Christianity.

Here’s a taste:  “Tolerance traditionally means simply to recognize and respect others’ beliefs, practices and so on, without necessarily agreeing or sympathizing.”  The new tolerance “means to consider every individual’s beliefs, values, lifestyle and truth claims as equally valid.”

They go on to explain the consequences of this change, and how Christians should respond.

I wasn’t able to find the exact article online, but there is a very similar article called Truth and Tolerance here.

Here’s a cool video from a family who’s reaching people online from France.