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Sitting with a smile on her face and her grandson on her knee, her daughter beside her, and her mother across the table from her, Martha looked like a picture of family bliss. I was so glad I ran into her at the coffee shop so I could say Thank You.

Like many of you, she had recently referred a friend to me because she thought I could help that person find answers to his job fit questions. It’s a fun part of my work – being connected by friends and families to so many other people around the world. I have been astounded, as my relationships with you have connected me with people near and far. (more…)

I went to a funeral yesterday. My wife’s grandmother, a dear woman who’d lived a good long life, died on Easter morning last weekend. Because she’d lived so long and had recently been battling heart problems, the funeral wasn’t as painful as they can be – like when a person dies young before they’ve had a chance to work through life’s questions or when there are too many conflicting feelings about whether we’ll miss someone or are glad they’re gone or both. This funeral was pretty easy.

I mentally prepare myself for funerals, weddings, and the other life passage events. I expected some tears from the people around me who’d known my grandmother-in-law longer than me, and from people who have a harder time with death. She was Baptist, so I sort of expected a good spiritual song and a good “come to Jesus” sermonette, and maybe some fried chicken and potato salad afterward, because I’d grown up in that denomination and had been to quite a few funerals. (more…)

This week I’ve been reflecting on time lost to the urgency of business. I’ve allowed promises made for good reasons to crowd out good reasons to say no. I’ve simply become too busy to give attention to the right things.

This may very well be the most personal newsletter I’ll ever write. You see my birthday falls on 9/11 and for the past 8 years I’ve been trying to reconcile what had been a day of personal celebration with what has become a day of somber reflection.

Now it’s not my intention to bring you down, but hard things happen. They’re unavoidable. No amount of planning and control can fully protect any of us from experiencing personal tragedy and pain. They’re just part of living in this world. So, perhaps an important question to ask is “What do you do with the hard things that happen in your life?” (more…)