My family will come together this holiday season, holding the memories of what we’ve lost and the promise of what’s to come, as we celebrate with new faces and the stories that shape our lives. My sister, mother, brother—my unwavering support system, who, along with many others, upheld my family when my husband of 18…
Category: Chara Donahue
A Profound Mystery: Thoughts on the Church
The first years of my marriage were anything but easy. Yes, many times provided cherished memories that still make me smile, but we also struggled through tough terrain. We confronted fears that threatened to cause a civil war, healed from past wounds that followed us into our union, and drudged through days I simply questioned…
Christmas Peace and Desert Places
This article was written in December of 2022. One year ago, my family began a journey that drew me to empathize with the restless wanderings of the Israelites in the desert. It was our first holiday season invaded by a predator we’ve now been told will stalk us till a dying day. As turkeys roasted…
Extraordinary Life isn’t Found in Carpe Diem
My high school English teacher showed Dead Poets Society at the end of every fall semester. As trees grew bare, Robin Williams inspired our impressionable young minds as John Keating by getting on top of his desk, reciting poetry, and encouraging his students to write their verse. My worldview shifted, though not for the better, when Keating…
Eat, Drink, and Be Merry
It was Christmas eve, impregnated with an importance that thankfully, didn’t visit annually. We all knew next Christmas one of us would not be there, so we held tight to the time gifted to us as we celebrated the birth of my Grandma’s Savior, who she would be meeting…soon. We gathered around the hospice bed…
Braving Summer’s Heat
Summer is waning, but the sun is still beckoning us out into the great outdoors while concurrently threatening to burn and blister the skin. Thunderstorms periodically shake the skies reminding that tension forms when opposites collide. Warm nights and long days usher in a sense of restlessness and the temptation to throw off responsibility. When…
Wandering Through an Unknown Tomorrow
I love to learn. The process of asking questions and finding answers exhilarates me. However, the speculation surrounding the pandemic paired with constant outrage from every side has been the catalyst for overwhelming societal confusion. Personally, one lesson has been louder than all the others—get comfortable with mystery. Make conclusions, and walk in wisdom, but…
Old Testament Comfort for Current Times
Too often we forget how much the Old Testament can minister to our desperate hearts, and we miss out if we don’t sit with the truths it brings. In times when it is clear that man cannot save himself, I am comforted to know that the serpent’s head will be crushed, that God works what…
The Cost of New Life
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:24 I have moved across the country twice. Both times with no job in sight. I just figured I would find one when I got there….
Yuletide Truth
Here is my confession: I believed in Santa until I was eleven. I had suspicions, but as far as I could see I had a good thing going on, and asking questions might mess with the quantity of wrapped bounty strewn beneath the tree Christmas morning. Whether it was Santa or Mom, I didn’t care,…
Anchored Voices 