Category Archives: Daily Life

Donna Wilder

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5 1/2 years ago, my life was a mess. I was crying 24/7. I was throwing up everything I was eating and I wasn’t sleeping. I was already on medication but that could only do so much. Finally, one of the leaders at my church took me to the beach and spent the day talking with me. She told me that she had made an appointment for me the next day with Donna Wilder, the head of our lay counselling program at church.

I walked into Donna’s office not expecting to be seeing her for the next two years. I told her my story and thought, “OK… this was nice. Now what?” At the end of the session, she told me that she wanted to see me again next week. I managed to show up and she became my therapist and helped me to work through so many of my issues.

She believed that therapy was her calling from God and there were many people she saw for free if they couldn’t afford her rates. I saw God’s faithfulness to her as people in the church supported her ministry and did things like pay for her vacation every year or do other anonymous things so that she could pursue her ministry. I was sad when I eventually stopped seeing her because I was graduating and moving on with my life. The last time I talked to her was before I flew home for Christmas when I was in seminary. It was after 9/11 and I was terrified to fly. She advised me on what to do and prayed with me.

This morning, I got an email from one of the adult leaders of my college fellowship telling me that she had died last Saturday. She had tumors on her brain and lungs and they had metasticized. She opted for no further treatment, went home, developed pneumonia, and died.

I know she’s in heaven and that the words “well done, good and faithful servant” apply to her but… I’m still incredibly ripped up right now and my day will probably be spent in tears.

Snow

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For some reason, the powers-that-are have decided that since this is Minnesota, we should at least have a couple weeks of real winter, right? So we’ve got 4 inches of snow on the ground and it’s a beautiful winter wonderland… for the first time this winter. We’ve had snow before but it disappears in a matter of days. We’ve also not had a day below 0F this month — I remember 45 straight days of sub-zero temps last winter.

I think whoever controls the weather is having some confusion…

Interview Meme

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1) On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate this winter’s weather? And how does it compare to past winters in regards to weather: snow, ice, cold?
I’d give it a 3. It’s been a really mild winter with very little snow and very few sub-zero temps. We just got 3 inches of snow though so that could change really fast.

2) What invention would you like to see developed in the next 5-to-10 years?
Not really an invention but I’d love to see more research done on asthma and therapies that don’t involve massive doses of steroids or inhaled adrenaline. (Inhaler shakes are not high on my list of things to deal with on a daily basis.)

3) When you were five years old, what did you want to be when you grew up? How did that pan out?
I wanted to be a princess. While I rule Casa K-M, I haven’t quite gotten the rest of the world to bow down to me.

4) What’s the wallpaper on your PC screen right now? How did it get there? Are you about to change it? Change it to what?
It’s a picture of me and Freya from Valentine’s Day. I’m probably not going to change it for awhile though if I did, it might be to a cat picture or to one of me with my family.

5) Are you going to watch the Oscars for the fashion, for the awards, or to see someone embarrass themselves in front of millions?
Ummmm…. no?

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The Official rules of the Interview-Game
1. If you want to participate, leave a comment below saying “interview me.”
2. I will respond by asking you five questions – each person’s will be different.
3. You will update your journal/blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions
6. I will answer reasonable follow up questions if you leave a comment.