How do we turn our pain, our losses and disappointments around and allow God to reveal his greater purpose in them? We work hard, make our plans and try to put all the pieces together. We experience success and accomplishments, mixed with failures and disappointment and then, somewhere along the way, we learn that we…
The Wendell Berry books were taken from their pride of place in our glass-fronted bookcase and piled around my favourite reading chair. Berry’s essays, fiction and poetry have been a source of wisdom and vision for me since I first picked up The Unsettling of America half a lifetime ago. Hearing of his death at…
My parents raised me to respect a solid work ethic and to appreciate the fruits of honest labour. As an adult, I realized the downside of all that is a tendency to confuse who we are with what we do. A visit to Boldt Castle years ago drove the point home for me. Hart Island…
“Horrifically peaceful.” That’s how Richard Bodini, pastor at Heritage Fellowship Christian Reformed Church (CRC) in Brampton, Ontario, describes being present with a person passing from life to death through Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID). “Going from having a conversation with the person to praying over their cold body in a matter of moments,” he says,…
After my dear wife Carina passed away in December 2023, I quickly learned about grief. The words of Psalm 42:3 – “tears have been my food day and night” – took on new meaning. Some Bible verses are best appreciated after you have experienced lament and grief. Recent developments in the world of Artificial Intelligence…
Doing it Well is one of those books that you’ll keep thinking about long after you finish the last chapter. Throughout the book, Joanne Schreuders describes her husband Jim’s battle with cancer – and her experiences of walking alongside him in this time. After many years of prayer and care, Jim passed away in 2022….
Then he (Jesus) said to them, ‘Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions’ (Luke 12:15). A handful of years ago I heard about Swedish Döstädning when I read Marareta Magnusson’s book The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning. I…
It’s still dark when I wake up. A thought pierces my heart: today is the funeral. Four days ago, on February 22, 1944, an American bombardment tore the heart out of Nijmegen, our city, and shattered our family by killing my eight-year-old brother, Jos. Jos is short for Josef, meaning “God adds.” Yes, God adds,…
My father, Dick Kronemeyer, passed away on December 30, 2024. At his Celebration of Life service on January 4 in Smithers, B.C., we reflected on his life of faithfulness. He is remembered by many for his Christian commitment, leadership, generosity and a refreshingly wise perspective on life. As his youngest child, I was privileged to…
In the days surrounding the funeral of my dear wife, Carina, I was encouraged by a steady stream of guests, casseroles, flowers and notes. As I prepared to return to an empty house in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a close friend from childhood and his wife offered to accompany me back home. For a few days…
During the closing prayer at my friend’s memorial a few months ago, the officiating pastor included a request for “the courage to grieve.” This phrase still hovered in my mind as I opened Jason Dykstra’s memoir about the stillborn death of his third child, Ezra. What does courageous grief look like when a much-loved son…
We first met when we were both first-year university students. Carina was a fine arts major at the new campus of Redeemer College, and I was an engineering major at a nearby university. I had travelled to Redeemer to visit some friends and I can still picture the spot in the hallway where our eyes…
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