Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Ellen Painter Dollar

Home
Progressive Christian

pain

Select a Category disability ethics parenthood Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011

December 2015

December 04, 2015

Hope is the Hard and Necessary Work of Advent

Practicing Advent hope in the face of hopelessness is the fundamental—sometimes hardest—work God has given...

September 2015

September 25, 2015

A Cancer Memoir that (Mostly) Gets It Right

I have rarely read a book that inspired so many different reactions, in such quick...

June 2015

June 13, 2015

On a Difficult Anniversary, Making Room for the Better Stories

I will always remember that terrible June day in 2009. But I’ve reached a point...

February 2015

February 19, 2015

Believing with Our Bodies

I go back to the paradox that our bodies both betray us and reflect our...

December 2014

December 29, 2014

On Assisted Suicide and Chronic Pain, Sex and Prayer, DNA and Ice Buckets: Top 10 Posts of 2014

The 10 most-read blog posts of 2014—a list that provides a good snapshot of topics...

November 2014

November 18, 2014

Not All Pain is Gain

Not all pain is gain. Pain is not always fixable. This is the truth. But...

October 2014

October 21, 2014

A Christian Response to Brittany Maynard’s Decision to Die

The face on this week’s People magazine cover is Brittany Maynard, a 29-year-old, recently married woman who went...

September 2014

September 29, 2014

Can You Regret Having a Child Who Inherits Your Genetic Baggage?

But while I sometimes wish I could have spared my daughter her genetic fate, I’m...

September 16, 2014

Don’t Sweat the Big Stuff?

A friend recently asked for support and prayers during a particularly stressful time. Her worries...

July 2014

July 14, 2014

A Letter to My 16-Year-Old Self

To my 16-year-old self: When people tell you that your scars are a kind of...

June 2014

June 02, 2014

“A Beautiful Disaster”: Marlena Graves on Suffering, God, & a Child-Like Faith

When people get all in a tizzy about how the Internet is ruining real human...

May 2014

May 07, 2014

A Broken Body, Redeemed

Eight years ago, when my three children were still very young, we traveled to Omaha...

April 2014

April 02, 2014

Yes, We Can Change Cultural Assumptions About Disabilities. Here’s How.

Last night, I gave a lecture at the University of Hartford to students in a...

March 2014

March 25, 2014

What Happens When We Pray

I don't understand how prayer works. But I believe in a God who is good,...

February 2014

February 17, 2014

Why Do Parents Choose to Screen for Disabilities?

Imagine you are standing at an intersection with your child, waiting for a walk light...

September 2013

September 27, 2013

[Snapshots from Oak Ridge] What My Kids and My Garden Have in Common

I struggled to find a good photo subject for today's post. Right now, most of...

September 24, 2013

A Story About the Abundance, and Absence, of Memory and Faith

Walker has written a story about Alzheimer's, yes, and about her mother, and about her....

September 20, 2013

[Snapshots from Oak Ridge] I Wrote a Book. Want One?

I will confess something that will be not at all surprising to most of you,...

September 17, 2013

“Wonder” and the Paradoxes of Living with a Disability

R.J. Palacio's young adult novel Wonder tells the story of Auggie, a boy with a severe facial...

September 13, 2013

Finding God at Rock Bottom

Karen Beattie and her husband went through a difficult few years. She was unexpectedly laid...

September 12, 2013

Bodily Betrayal, Redeemed by Love

John Green’s bestselling young-adult novel The Fault in Our Stars is a love story about two teenagers,...

August 2013

August 01, 2013

The Redemption of the Mundane: My Post at Convergent Books

There's a new imprint in town! Convergent Books is a division of Penguin Random House...

July 2013

July 03, 2013

You Have NO Excuse for Parking in a Handicapped Spot without a Legit Tag. Really. None.

Every summer for the past five years, I have taken my kids to swim lessons...

June 2013

June 27, 2013

[Me & My Naturopath] When Nothing Works

This is the third post in which I discuss my efforts to deal with chronic...

June 24, 2013

Everyday Resurrections (& a New Bench)

This post is very slightly edited from its original version published last August. You'll note...

May 2013

May 13, 2013

At Home in a Place Where Imperfect Bodies Are the Norm

At my local pool, people with limps and spots and wrinkles are the norm, and...

May 09, 2013

The Summer When I Didn’t Cherish Time with My Kids

Note: I wrote this in the summer of 2009. I am reposting it here as...

May 06, 2013

How Mother’s Day 2006 Was the Beginning of the Rest of My Life

This is the story I told at this past weekend's inaugural Speak Up storytelling event...

May 02, 2013

Parents-to-Be Have More Choices Than Ever, But We Can’t Choose Our Way Out of Pain

Jennifer Gilmore’s story is enough to scare anyone away from open adoption. (It also provides...

April 2013

April 30, 2013

A Different Take on Why Bad Things Happen to Good People

Questions around suffering and pain are stock in trade for me as a writer. I...