The True Story of Mary and John
This is an old photo of my daughter, Mary Addison, and her friend Joseph. I love this photo for many reasons – mostly because our dear friend, Joseph, always saw angels and now he is with the angels. But this story is about an encounter Mary Addison had with a...Isolation
Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” Matthew 26:38 (NIV) Jesus’ words here resonate with me. There have been so many times when I just wanted to scream “I feel so...The Power of the Powerless
I went to visit my most favorite teacher ever – my third grade teacher, Mrs. Hasell. I had not seen her in over 40 years, but fate brought us back together on this steamy Saturday afternoon. She seemed like she was 103 years old when she taught me, but she...
The Latest From Mary
- Entering The Light December 30, 2019Rembrandt’s The Adoration of the Shepherds has deeply touched me this Christmas season. And now that the chaos is over, the image is bringing to life the words I’ve heard hundreds of times. Luke 2:16-20 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they […]Mary Tutterow
- Calm Before the Storm September 4, 2019We’ve prepped for Hurricane Dorian (downgraded now to a tropical storm) and we’re just awaiting her arrival. Our governor declared a mandatory evacuation several days ago. Our city has been gradually emptying out. Businesses are closed. Streets and beaches are empty. There’s nothing to do. Nowhere to go – just stay home, read, rest, talk, […]Mary Tutterow
- Perfect Love May 20, 2019You may have a hard time perceiving Perfect Love, but when you choose to believe Perfect Love is available, you will see the miraculous results of letting it fill and satisfy you as no other love can. We free others up to do a better job loving us. We put people in an impossible […]Mary Tutterow
- The Christmas Effect December 14, 2018Our daughter, Mary Addison, is now 26 years old. She is mentally and physically challenged. She has skills of a 12-year-old but enjoys the innocence of a small child. That being said, you can imagine her love of all things “Christmas.” (She and Buddy the Elf have a lot in common.) We start listening to […]Mary Tutterow
- Dodging Holiday Depression November 18, 2018The holidays can be difficult and depressing. Shorter days, gloomy weather, family chaos with everyone at home, and changes in schedules can intensify our challenges of caring for a family member with exceptional needs. The complaint I hear the most is, “Christmas and all its traditions no longer bring me joy. It’s just extra work […]Mary Tutterow
- You Are My Witnesses October 23, 2018A sweet friend that I met during caregiver small groups gave me permission to share it this you. Her mother has Alzheimer’s and is quickly declining, and my friend had been struggling with feelings of impatience and inadequacy. She confessed she’d had a “sit down” with God asking if He was sure He picked the […]Mary Tutterow
- Do Not Fear The Beast September 13, 2018My daughter’s seizures dramatically escalate with every big storm. Hurricane Florence’s scope is so big, there is nowhere within a 5-hour radius we can drive to get her out of the pressure. We resigned to just stay in Charleston and be near our familiar docs and hospital. Watching her seize with increased frequency and intensity […]Mary Tutterow
- Clearing Old Data September 5, 2018My website was recently hacked and infected with a terrible virus. My webmaster and hosting service eventually got everything cleaned up and back online, but when I typed in the address, I kept getting the same error message. It was so frustrating – they could see the new and improved, cleaned up site, but I couldn’t. […]Mary Tutterow
- Powerful Good from Terribly Bad July 22, 2018I was reading the book of Ruth in the Bible the other day. It really touched something deep in me I want to share. My mother died very young, before I had children. It seemed so premature and unfair, but like this story of Ruth, I have come to realize it wasn’t the terribly bad […]Mary Tutterow
- Life in Prison June 1, 2018When we realized that no surgery, no med, no therapy was going to fix Mary Addison – that this was our new normal – I felt like we’d been given a sentence of life in prison. To accommodate her daily seizures and her mental and physical challenges, everything about our lifestyle would have to change […]Mary Tutterow