Colleen Chao

Colleen is an editor and the author of In the Hands of a Fiercely Tender Godand the children’s book on suffering, Out of the Shadow World. She makes her home just outside Boise, Idaho with her husband Eddie, their son Jeremy, and Willow the dog.

Motherhood

When Motherhood Comes in Weakness
Colleen Chao 6 Minute Read

I’m not much of a mom these days. At least, that’s what I’m tempted to feel like when I see all the other moms dashing here and there, taking their kids to sports practice and volunteering in their classroom, hosting big birthday parties and planning fun vacations. My son has a mom who spends much of her time in bed, in a recliner, and in doctors’ offices.

There are moments when I grieve who I can’t be for my 11-year-old, when I mourn the ways my terminal cancer diagnosis has laid heavy burdens on my son’s young shoulders.

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Inspirational

When Your Disappointment May be a Divine Opportunity
Colleen Chao 4 Minute Read

It was the last place on earth I wanted to be. I’d always loved flying, but this airplane, with all my worldly belongings crammed into the luggage compartment below me, symbolized the death of my dreams. I’d scored a job as an editor on the outskirts of Washington, D.C., but a 3:00 AM trip to the ER had changed everything. Now suddenly I was on my way home to California minus my health, car, and job. I looked out the window as my dream life vanished beneath me.

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Love

The Discipline of Falling in Love
Colleen Chao 3 Minute Read

Four years ago this month, I sat at a coffee shop with trembling heart, looking across the table at a man named Eddie. He was not quite a stranger to me, due to weeks of long phone conversations and shared group activities, but he was a huge risk. I’d been hurt too many times before, and I was scared. Please don’t hurt me, my tender heart cried.

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Trust

Suffering is Not a Competitive Sport
Colleen Chao 4 Minute Read

My suffering in singleness was an invitation to find my treasure in Christ. My suffering was valuable, not as an end, but as a means to usher me into a deeper love relationship with my Lord. Suffering, both then and now, reminds me that this life is not where my ultimate happiness and purpose are found.

But sometimes I get things all backwards.

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The End.

What is grace?