Faith, Family, and the beauty of Everyday Grace

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Dear Younger Me
grief, Life Debbie Prather grief, Life Debbie Prather

Dear Younger Me

May 14, 1985 

Dad died in the hospital today. Why, why, why, why, why? Why wasn't I taken instead? Mom, Karen, and the boys could live fine without me. How will any of us survive without Dad?

June 9, 2023 

Dear Younger Me, 

These are such good questions.

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the true you
grief Debbie Prather grief Debbie Prather

the true you

I sat poolside in this Mexican resort town and noticed a tingling clearness in my head and my breathing start to slow down and expand. It felt like a watch that had been ticking too fast, suddenly being reset to the correct tempo—an invisible rebooting of my soul.

I recently heard the soul described as the part of you that was there before you were born and the part of you that will live on after you die: The "true" you.

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a fine line
Debbie Prather Debbie Prather

a fine line

There's a fine line between joy and despair, laughter and tears, the truth and a lie, life and even death. We should've seen it coming—we already knew we were on very thin ice. Especially after our agency was shut down by the U.S. State Department in December, but, still, we had hope. Looking back now, that shutting down was the beginning of the end

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the dash that is our life
Debbie Prather Debbie Prather

the dash that is our life

Yesterday, I visited the cemetery where my dad was laid to rest in 1985.

I hadn't planned to stop there, but construction and a wrong turn after dropping my mom at the airport led me on an adventure through the city of Chicago and then to the highway that passed his exit.

I settled in the shade in the summer heat and was surprised that tears can still appear.

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