The Landmark

The first time I processed the words spoken to me on the playground was a day I will never forget. At College Street Elementary School, I heard the chants:“They are not your real parents.” During that same school year, a letter was passed around during a church service that read, “Iris is a Cabbage Patch […]

Sometimes the most sacred reminders come in quiet, ordinary moments—ones we don’t realize are meaningful until we pause and reflect. Life moves quickly. Seasons shift. Promises whispered in one chapter can feel distant in the next. But every now and then, something small—something almost forgettable—pulls us back to a truth we desperately need: God doesn’t […]

There’s a powerful verse in the Bible that I’ve meditated on often: “Do I seek to please men, or do I seek to please God? Because if I seek to please men, then I am not a servant of God.” Galatians 1: 10, 11 Thanks for reading Iris’s Insights! Subscribe for free to receive new […]

Walking in my bedroom on the first Saturday of this year forced me to keep a promise I made to myself months earlier. There were two boxes tucked in the corner that I had to conquer. After the loss of David, I relocated to my hometown of Clinton. Moving is usually not fun, but moving […]

When we sat down for Thanksgiving dinner, I was convinced that I was going to be all right. I had been honest with myself about the grief and utter sadness that I felt as I anticipated the first Thanksgiving since my dad’s death. There was a common thread that united us all–we all missed him. […]

I sat down to update one of my websites yesterday, and almost lost my breath. The only content I have added to the website has been blog posts and I updated my photos during the spring. I clicked on the About page and saw the information about my family had not been changed. In the […]

I knew, but nothing had been confirmed, so two weeks after my father’s passing, I asked my sister for the exact time of his death. I had an idea that when she shared the time, I would be able to pinpoint where I was around that moment that will forever be remembered as the day […]

(This post was originally publihed on “Iris’s Insights” blog October 2016) As I sat at my desk preparing to post this week’s insight, I read two messages and had a phone call from people who were seemingly at the end of their rope. Each of them had hit a pivotal point in their careers/ministry and […]

The anniversary of a loved one’s passing can be an emotional minefield. As the host of the “Grieving Well” podcast, I recently experienced this on the first anniversary of my husband David’s death. Though I planned self-care activities like a massage, beach visit, and lunch at one of our favorite restaurants, April 18th was excruciatingly […]

Reflecting on the eve of David’s surgery brings back memories of quiet conversations and unspoken fears. His stirring at 1 a.m. led me to rise and check on him, unknowingly setting the tone for my grief journey. In those still hours of the night, as we grappled with the weight of impending separation and the […]