The Friendless Winter 2026 by Shirley (Maher) Williams

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Today we are delighted to welcome long time InScribe member, Shirley Williams, as our Guest Blogger.

Write a Story where it’s difficult to give thanks in your writing. What did God teach you through this experience?

Sometimes it’s hard to give thanks in our writing, when life is challenging. Here’s my story of this example.

It’s funny how life goes. I don’t know how we can ever expect anything to stay the same in life, because it really doesn’t. I guess we need to learn this lesson as time goes on. We know it with head knowledge, but sometimes until it hits our hearts, it doesn’t become reality.

Within the last two years I have lost four dear friends. One moved away (difficult to connect) and the others passed away in their early 60s. One was a lifelong farm friend (60 years), two were church friends (25 years), and the last one was a work friend (15 years).

The three friends that passed were very unexpected and emotional. My lifelong friend, Judy’s passing was especially tragic because her health came crashing down, while we were preparing for our daughter’s wedding. We could only do so much for her at the time, but thankfully after the wedding I was able to see her the day before she passed. Her health was not the only tragedy in her life, but so was her last 20+ years. Her husband left her destitute with two special needs children, stole her farm, committed adultery and barely/rarely supported them. Her sister and friends supported somewhat, but sadly she never recovered from her loss.

Judy and I were two years apart and grew up nearby, on our Alberta family farms. Our families were good friends. As we grew up, we played, worked, travelled, camped, and enjoyed many movies, events and especially good visits together. We ended up in the same town, and both had children on the autism spectrum. Thankfully, we were able to understand/support one another. We also shared the same family dynamics and similarities/interests. We were referred to as “twins”! We chatted, laughed, cried, and prayed together, and our visits were never long enough. Kindred Spirits, how precious our friendship was!

I wrote a yearly Christmas letter and last year expressed that some of my dear friends had passed away. I was hoping that some friends would have realized my need for extra companionship that year. Sadly, it didn’t really happen.

During that season, the odd friend reached out, and we connected a couple times and a couple others attempted too, but illness, overwhelming responsibilities, and conflicting schedules led to nothing. I was thankful for those who reached out, but sad that connections were so poor in my sad year of mourning.

This was shocking, as I feel that I’ve reached out to many friends over the years during good and hard times and I kind of felt a bit cheated. I also realized that I hadn’t reached out fully with authenticity about my extra need for friendship. (I thought my friends would have caught on, but they didn’t.) At the time, I wasn’t sure what was going on? Was this just part of our senior years, or maybe the sign of our complicated times of poor communication. I just waited to see if someone would contact me, so I waited (usually I’m the contact person). I waited and waited and prayed and waited. Nothing. Finally, after months of waiting and suffering, with God's help I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself, rethink things and choose thankfulness/forgiveness (others/myself) and moved on. I joined a Bible study and started reconnecting, and it was good. We continue God's ministries for us (ironically connecting others). Loving and serving (even if not returned) and receiving from others with authenticity (good attitudes/boundaries).

It was hard, until recently, to write about this painful experience with thankfulness during this time of mourning, disappointment, and transition. Thankfully God heals, fills all the voids and helps us process our losses, unmet expectations, and struggles. He guides us with His perspective/will as He “works everything out for good…” (Romans 8:28) and transforms us into His likeness, to do things His way and not ours.

Thank God for getting me through a very sad/trying year. With His help, I choose not to have any more friendless seasons and will always find something to be thankful for, in my experiences for spiritual growth and expressed through my writing. When we ask/obey/trust/wait on Him, He’s always faithful and our true best friend, who never fails. Praise the Lord, through whom ALL blessings flow!

Shirley Williams lives with her husband in Barrhead, Alberta. She loves writing for healing and to encourage others. Some of her projects include co-authoring with her son Joseph (ASD spectrum). You can reach her at: lifebuild12@hotmail.com

Too Burdened To Be Thankful by Mary Folkerts

 

It was Thanksgiving weekend, and my list of things to be thankful for should have been long, given the many ways God had blessed me. But honestly, I wasn't focused on my blessings, and my heart felt heavy. Thanksgiving wasn't my first response to the holiday.

Sunday morning, the pastor said words that gripped my attention: words about thanksgiving and comparison, and how they are incompatible. It got me thinking that when I get stuck in a comparison trap, discontentment brews and festers, overflowing into my life like a stew of rotten tomatoes, but when I have a thankful spirit, peace floods me like an engulfing hug.That afternoon, before we enjoyed a bountiful Thanksgiving meal with friends and family, my husband opened the Bible to a fitting passage to read, but Reegan, our daughter with Down Syndrome, had already beat him to it. She had her folded paper beside her plate, written with the words she wanted to share. She had chosen these words from Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (NIV).

Honestly, there are times I feel she has a special connection to the heart of God, bringing blessing and holy conviction to those around her.

Some might not consider this an appropriate Thanksgiving passage, but the words spoke deeply to my heart. It seemed like a prelude and a benediction for a thankful spirit! You see, it's hard to be grateful when the heart is weary and burdened with all the worries of the world stacked high to the point of toppling. If we refuse to open our clenched fists, grasping instead to our heavy load as though it were mined treasure, comparison, anxiety and discontentment cloud our vision of the blessings right in front of us.

We are anxious because we try to control circumstances that are not ours to control. We quickly compare another's seemingly easy life with our own difficulties, unaware of the other's hardships. If these anxieties and comparisons are the filters through which we view life, we will end up discontented instead of thankful.

But as we come to Jesus daily, speaking our burdens to him and laying them at his feet as they roll from our heavy hearts onto his capable shoulders, we find rest and room for a thankful spirit to bloom where worry once took up too much space. And when thankfulness grows and flourishes, it chokes out anxiety, comparison, and discontentment.

As I write these words, I am reminded that this posture of open hands fits well with our writing journey. We can feel anxiety rise within us when timelines and rejection letters leave us feeling defeated. Comparison makes us feel behind, and thankfulness is hard to see, but as my editor reminds me, "It's all in God's perfect timing!"

Do burdens cloud your vision of God's goodness? Speak them to Jesus, and keep bringing them to him, knowing that he can bring rest and, ultimately, thankfulness to your anxious soul.

Mary Folkerts is mom to four kids and wife to a farmer, living on the southern prairies of Alberta, where the skies are large and the sunsets stunning. She is a member of Proverbs 31 Ministries' COMPEL Writers Training, involved in church ministries and music. Mary’s blog aims to encourage and inspire women and advocate for those with Down Syndrome, as their youngest child introduced them to this extraordinary new world. For more inspiration, check out Joy in the Small Things https://maryfolkerts.com/ or connect on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/maryfolkerts/

Lessons from Kylee by Sharon Heagy

Kylee was born September 13, 2004. A precocious little girl with a vivacious personality. She was full of life, had an easy smile and contagious laughter. As the only kids in our small congregation, she and her older brother brought a breath of fresh air through the church whenever they came through the door. They were adored by one and all.

In February of 2007 Kylee complained of severe pain in her leg so her Grandpa and Mom whisked her away to the hospital in the city. X-rays showed green stick fractures. Her whole leg was adorned with a bright pink cast which she loved to show off. But the pain didn’t get better. She was admitted to hospital on April 5. Upon further investigation the doctors gave the family some dire news for which they were unprepared. Is anyone ever prepared? This beautiful little girl was diagnosed on Sunday, April 8 – Easter Sunday - with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and the poking, prodding and treatments began. Though some of the things she went through added to her pain, whatever the medical staff did to her, she always looked at them and said, “Sanks”, knowing they were trying to help. She was brave and courageous.

The family, the church and the community began to pray in earnest for healing and Kylee herself always said she would be “growing up for Jesus.” She was responding well to the treatment and everyone was full of hope. The community banded together and held a fundraiser to help with travel and other expenses. There was almost a celebratory atmosphere as it looked like Kylee was going to beat this horrific disease.

On the fifth of May, less than a month after her diagnosis, as her mom held her in her arms, Kylee suddenly stopped breathing. The ambulance was dispatched and, with Kylee and her mom on board, they raced for Regina as the paramedics desperately tried to revive this precious girl. Dad sped along behind in his pickup. In the middle of nowhere they stopped along the highway. Kylee had passed away. Mom and Dad tearfully held their baby close one last time, clutching her and each other.

The autopsy showed no cancer anywhere in her little body. Was it the treatment? Was it something else? The report was inconclusive.

The family, the church, and the community were in shock. Grief lay heavy like a dense fog. The church went through a crisis of faith and a shaking that was deep. We were all perplexed and numb, left with only whys that would never be answered. “The Lord gave, and the Lord has …taken away?” (Job 1:21 NIV Question marks mine – then and now) “may the name of the Lord be praised?” We all struggled between anger, doubt and trust. Yet to whom could we turn if not the Lord. “Our strong tower.” “The lifter of our head.” (Proverbs 18-10, Psalm 3:3) The One who loves us beyond our imagining and who sacrificed his own Son for us. Yet the battle was real.

A request came for me to write and deliver the eulogy. Where would I find the words? Where would they come from? What could I say about such a short life? Two and a half years. But come they did. Through the dryness, through the numbness. They came through tears, they came as a result of Kylee’s strength and bravery, which I know now was given to her by God. An answer to prayers. And I got to the place where, like Kylee, I could say to the Lord, “Sanks.”

But I still had to get up on the platform and deliver it. The morning of the funeral came and I experienced something that left my mind stunned but my heart full. During prayer I had a vision. It was clear and vivid and alive. Kylee holding the hand of Jesus, walking away from me. They stopped. She turned her head and looked at me and asked me, “Are you going to talk about me today?” All I could do was nod. Then she replied in her own sweet voice, “Sanks.”

God was always there through it all. Carrying us when we were too weak to walk, too weak to write. The service was full of praise, of hope and of love. Were people still struggling? Yes. But what a witness as we all leaned into Him, especially to those in attendance who had never met Jesus.

We have no more answers than we did then but rather than destroying our faith through the storm, we were strengthened and learned many lessons, especially about God and His sovereignty, love, grace and mercy. Soli Deo gloria.

Thanks for visiting today and God bless.

 

Sharon Heagy writes from the wonderful town of Rockglen, Saskatchewan, where she lives with her husband, a big dog and furry cats. She writes to bring hope and humour to a world that needs both. She can be reached at sharonheagy@gmail.com

The Sting of Rejection by Dana-Lyn Phillips

 

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People often tell me my writing seems effortless but that definitely is not the case. Behind every post or magazine article that seems to flow effortlessly for the reader, lie many hours, days, and sometimes weeks of painstakingly reassembling words in the hopes of making my thoughts coherent for others.

I remain confident that writing is where God wants me at the moment but can still occasionally question the ‘why’. Somedays I think to myself  “There are so many people already doing this – why am I needed?” When the answer fails to come I commit the day to the Lord and trust Him to lead me in whatever project He wants me working on. Not surprisingly, He has never failed me.

I am grateful that in one short year God has graciously provided opportunities for me to write for a wide variety of publications. Some have been accepted and printed, such as my first ever published article in Faith & Friends magazine (July/August 2026) and another in FellowScript’s August 2026 magazine.

Others remain in a holding pattern like those submitted to The Upper Room, Guideposts, and Chicken Soup for the Soul. Then, there are the others. You know, the ones nobody likes to talk about because they have returned with the word “REJECTED” stamped across them in big red letters. Well…not actually, but they may as well have been, as that’s what it feels like.

So, to answer the question “When has it been difficult to give thanks in my writing life?” It's when my work is rejected.

I relate it to the adult version of being the last one selected by the team captain for sports teams in grade school gym classes. It’s as if someone is shining a spotlight declaring “You are not worthy!”.

Ok, perhaps that’s a little dramatic but there is also a lot of truth behind it.

I remember when I first started out, I had a goal of writing a devotional piece that would be accepted by DaySpring’s (in)courage submission team. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to submit a devotion for consideration, two or three times, prior to them moving to Hallmark and no longer accepting guest posts. Each time, I worked for weeks and was eventually happy with my submission. Each one returned with a beautifully crafted rejection letter.

I’m pretty confident that every writer has felt the sting of rejection over the course of their career so perhaps you can relate.

As my skin has thickened over the past year I have started looking at my writing, and the rejections, a little more objectively. Truth be told, either the writing wasn’t good enough or it wasn’t written in the same voice of the publication I was submitting for.

It’s interesting how time can bring clarity, and a teachable spirit can help us to be more accepting of constructive criticism.

As I continue to learn and grow, I gain a healthier perspective on rejection. When I feel the heat of the spotlight…you know, the one that seems to declare “You are not worthy!” I remind myself that my worth comes not from what I do, or how well I do it, but from being a child of God, created in His image and loved unconditionally. The beauty of this sense of worth is that no one can take it away.

As we are reminded by the Apostle Paul, “...If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31 NIV)

So, I choose to persevere and I hope that when you experience your own rejections, you choose to do the same.

Dana-Lyn is a wife, and mother to teenage boys as well as a 14-year-old cava-poo named Hockley. She is passionate about encouraging Christian women in their faith and is stepping into her mid-life "calling" as a writer. Her happy place consists of a comfy chair, a great book, a hot cup of coffee and a chocolate…or three! You can read more of her work at https://plansfargreater.substack.com