by Deb Kalmbach | change, courage, home, hope, letting go, life, personal growth
Starting a new chapter in my life has always been difficult. About twenty-three years ago, we put our house on the market in Auburn, Washington where we’d lived for more than a decade. I remember the ache I felt when I saw the “for sale” sign in our...
by Deb Kalmbach | alcoholism, be yourself, courage, difficult relationships, marriage
What seems like a lifetime ago, I started attending Al-Anon because I was struggling to cope with my husband Randy’s excessive drinking. I didn’t know where to turn. Finally, I realized I needed help. At Al-Anon, I met a compassionate young woman who...
by Deb Kalmbach | Billy Graham, children, encouragement, faith, God's love, grace, gratitude, hope, Jesus Christ, legacy, personal growth
“We all have a Billy Graham story,” one of his daughters said at his funeral last Friday. It’s true. The Reverend Billy Graham touched countless lives during his decades of ministry, including mine. In 1979, I attended the Billy Graham Crusade on...
by Deb Kalmbach | addiction, alcoholism, comfort, compassion, difficult relationships, encouragement, faith, forgiveness, friendship, gratitude, hope, life, love, loving others, marriage, perseverance, personal growth, reconciliation, recovery, substance abuse, women
God still sends angels: ones with skin, hair and belly laughs. Angels like our friend, Jim. I met him at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting where I was the speaker for Al-Anon. I remember feeling at a loss for encouraging words. My situation with Randy and his alcoholism...
by Deb Kalmbach | alcoholism, difficult relationships, letting go, marriage, recovery
In my previous article about surviving your spouse’s alcoholism, I compared the struggle with alcoholism to an intense battle. It certainly is a battle on multiple levels: spiritual, physical, emotional. At first, I didn’t have a clue how to...
