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Welcome to "A Touch of Encouragement." Hope is here, perfection isn’t.
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In this touching video, Martha Williamson tells the story of how her young daughter loved a caterpillar and the lesson that no matter how big or small, learning to love has to start somewhere.
When someone close to you is grieving, Martha Williamson understands the importance of confronting the messiness of grief in order to better comfort the people we love. Martha learned this lesson the hard way when she pulled away from her friend just when she needed her the most.
Watch A Sunday Morning Slip, the video that inspired Martha to write A Friend in Grief.
What's your plan?
Just as we plan our emergency exits for possible life-threatening events, Martha Williamson thinks we should also plan for the emotional emergencies we face in our life. And it was her own "emotional exit plan" that helped her deal with the heartbreaking phone call telling her that her mother had just passed away.
While attending a recent funeral service, Martha Williamson was reminded of how taking a few hours to honor a life well-lived is also a good way to re-commit to living a life that honors God.
Watch Four Songs and a Funeral to hear about how Martha dealt with her own mother's funeral wishes.
How will you honor your mother?
Martha Williamson believes honoring your mother this Mother's Day is very different than just giving her a present.
Walking through the valley of death and feeling left behind.
When we feel sorrowful and left behind by the loss of a loved one, Martha Williamson shares that just as God welcomes them into His arms, He is also with us.
An unforgettable song.
Martha Williamson shares a touching story of how she was able to grant her mother's final wish.
A final farewell.
Through the sudden death of her daughter's pet, Martha Williamson was reminded of the true gift of God's eternal love.
Martha's tough answer to a sad question.
A mother's surprise note leaves a family something to remember.
Watch "The Secret Ingredient" and read the viewer's comment Martha responds to in this video.
When grief gets in the way.
Do we ever stop grieving?
The word with a thousand meanings.
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I find that little things that I might otherwise not notice this week are reminding me of my mother just because we're getting close to Mother's Day. "Keep on keepin' on" are the words of encouragement my mother would say to me whenever I needed a pep talk. I hadn't heard anyone say that in years, and suddenly I've heard it twice recently. I find myself humming a favorite song of hers. I see a dress in the window of a vintage clothing store and I could swear it's a copy of one she used to wear.
You never know what someone else is going through.
A child grieves in a surprising way.
I sat in a hospital waiting room recently, awaiting news from the OR while a friend was in surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. Over the hours I watched as two others waited nervously on the other side of the room for news of a loved one in another operating room. As time passed, other family members of theirs began to arrive, and it was clear that this surgery had not been planned. This was an emergency, and we soon learned that the father and patriarch of a large family had been hit by a car as he walked across the street that morning.
The problem with the Internet is that it doesn't have arms. How can any person of faith read the following letter and not want to reach out to this mother and just hug her and hold her?
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