by Shannon Popkin | Feb 18, 2019 | Love, Mistakes, Pain, Parenting, Problems
This post first appeared on, where I serve as one of the bloggers. I braced myself as I walked in the door. I knew it would be dark, so dark that I’d have to squint to read the faded gray numbers on the price tags. And I knew it would be loud, so loud that I’d have...
by Shannon Popkin | Nov 19, 2018 | Hardship, Suffering, Uncategorized
For a third grade assignment, my son defined thankfulness this way: “It’s when you don’t really like something, like your dinner, and your dad says that you should be thankful for it.” I’m sure he was picturing himself taking huge swigs of...
by Shannon Popkin | Jul 26, 2016 | Hardship, Pain, Suffering
By Shannon Popkin, Taken from the True Woman blog. Hello, Trouble. We were expecting you. Come right in and make yourself at home. Will you be staying awhile? We thought so. We’ve heard a lot about you. We’ve seen you visit our friends’ homes. To be...
by Shannon Popkin | May 9, 2016 | Hardship
Taken from TrueWoman.com. By: Shannon Popkin When my son was ten, he was diagnosed with a rare skin disease, literally an hour before we left on vacation. That morning he had pulled up his basketball shorts to show me the sores on his legs, which he hadn’t...
by Shannon Popkin | Mar 21, 2016 | Suffering
If there’s one thing I know about you, it’s this: your life will include suffering. Perhaps your suffering is public. You’ve lost a loved one, or been in an accident. Or maybe you suffer in silence. Perhaps it wouldn’t be right to talk openly...
by Shannon Popkin | Mar 3, 2015 | Hardship, Uncategorized
When I was in kindergarten, my mom made pink frosted cupcakes, for me to bring to school on my birthday. I couldn’t wait to carry them in to my classroom. Those cupcakes would make me the immediate star of the day; everyone’s best friend. But when we got...