Karen Knuff

I had an astounding and touching thing happen to me. I arrived at school at lunch and ended up talking to Sandy. I don't know why, but I decided to share my innermost thoughts and feelings with her. This is what I told her. Last year … Read more

The other night, I had been crying for several minutes, totally depressed and sad about my friend, Susan, moving away, back to Ontario, 2,600 miles away. Then, I decided to pick up a devotional book which this same friend had borrowed … Read more

Every time I go to our gym, I start out on the stationary bicycle. It's not just a boring bicycle ride; it's like watching me bicycling along, passing other cyclists — like a video game with 30 different tours and topography from real … Read more

Three years ago, I took my mom, then 90, to a nursing home to visit her even more elderly friend, Winnie, who was basically not "with it" anymore. I was in awe of my mother, who despite her own dementia, really "cared" for Winnie. It was … Read more

I'm trying to grow my fingernails. I've been trying all of my life to do this. But when there is the least little bit of stress, I fiddle with my nails and pick at edges that stick out, and before I know it, I've ripped off the end of a … Read more

When I am kayaking out on the ocean, sometimes it is glassy calm. At other times, there are waves — lots and lots of waves. When I'm paddling with the wind, I find it exhilarating to surf the big waves, … Read more

I had the most amazing experience only hours after a sermon on the theme, "Following Jesus Christ". The context for the sermon and my experience is my struggle with depression. I can find myself feeling down and not being able … Read more

Recently, I went to a women's retreat. One of the exercises was to take a particular seven-verse Scripture passage and to meditate on those verses. The valuable lesson that I learned, and will never forget, was not about what the … Read more

One of my housecleaning clients gave me a potted plant that should have been planted outside. This was very nice of her, and I appreciated it. However, the timing was poor. The next day, I took the plant with me … Read more

Several weeks ago, my friend, Wendy, a divorced mom with three kids, told me that her microwave had died. She was really sad about this turn of events and wondered how she could possibly afford another one. A week or … Read more