Eileen Benthal

If we follow the idea behind these awareness campaigns and remember that we don’t necessarily know another’s pain, so be patient and respectful, many lives could be helped by our kindness. 

Column: The poet Emily Dickinson compared hope to a bird, like the sweet goldfinches that stay close to my sunflowers, watching and waiting for the them to bloom and the seeds to ripen.

As the parent of a child with disabilities, I thought I understood what it was like to be disabled in a world mostly for able-bodied people. A broken knee taught me that I didn't have a clue.

“Behold, I make all things new.” It took hard work to uncover the beauty that lay beneath the weeds, and now, four years later, the garden is renewed in splendor.

Column by Eileen Benthal: The debates over abortion are not about whether we are pregnant with human life. The debate is about when we decide this human life is a person with rights protected under the law and whose rights —  the mother’s right to choose or the child’s right to life — takes precedence. 

Beekeeping teaches the value of being patient.

The Lord promises the Spirit brings freedom and heaven answers our prayers with a question, “Why are you standing there looking at the sky?” Who is freedom for if not for the living? 

There are lessons to be learned in the garden and even in the backyard chicken coop. While some may not appreciate being awakened by a crowing rooster at dawn, we all can relate to the struggle of finding our own voice and speaking up for another’s good will. 

It is possible to find contentment in life in any circumstances — happy or sad, easy or hard;  isolated or surrounded by family and friends. The secret is finding contentment within us rather than around us.

Living one’s life focused on a cure for disease can actually take away from living the life we are trying so desperately to prolong.