Author: Betty-Anne Van Rees

Finishing Faithfully

Finishing Faithfully

Posted by | Mar 7, 2022 | |

Not all of us know when we are nearing the end of our lives in the same way Moses did, but the reality is, not one of us is guaranteed tomorrow. So in some sense, there is wisdom in living every day with the intention of finishing faithfully. Moses served the Lord unwaveringly for 40 years, leading God’s people through life in the wilderness to His promise, but he knew he was not to enter the Promised Land with them. Moses is not the only example of finishing well we could look to, but he is a good one. Continue Reading →

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Celebrations in the Valley: Navigating Christmas with a Heavy Heart

Celebrations in the Valley: Navigating Christmas with a Heavy Heart

Posted by | Dec 1, 2021 | |

The holiday season is fast approaching, although it might be more fitting for many this year to say it’s encroaching—impinging, intruding, barging in, imposing itself. After a year overrun with expansive sorrow, the thought of “Christmas cheer” rings hollow. Even the message of the angel to a group of bewildered shepherds on a hill outside Bethlehem, “I bring you good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10), seems to promise more than we can believe possible. Continue Reading →

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Rightly Handling the Word of Truth

Rightly Handling the Word of Truth

Posted by | Sep 6, 2021 | |

So many lives I enter in my counseling relationships have been shaped by an understanding of the nature of God that is, quite frankly, not His nature. They cower in fear under the glare of a finger-wagging “god” who is condemning, exacting, and unapproachable. When they open their Bible to read, or when others open it to speak into their lives, they hear something other than the voice of God. Yes, they are God’s words, but they don’t mean to them what He means. Continue Reading →

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Serving Singles When Death has Separated

Serving Singles When Death has Separated

Posted by | Jun 21, 2021 | |

This week’s mini-series on the BCC Grace and Truth blog addresses the topic of counseling singles. In this first article, Betty-Anne Van Rees provides wisdom for counseling widows. In other contributions to the series, Jodi Kushner discusses the stigma attached to divorced singles in the church, Brady Goodwin exhorts believers to welcome young singles as family, and Jason Hsieh considers three questions for older singles and their churches. Continue Reading →

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The Wisdom in Restrained Responses: A Brief Case Study

The Wisdom in Restrained Responses: A Brief Case Study

Posted by | Jan 4, 2021 | |

Imagine you are peering through the living room window of a young woman’s home. The picture before you is distressing. You anticipated it might be bleak, but you couldn’t have imagined this. There she is, curled up on a cushion on the floor in front of her wood stove, day after day… after day. There is no music playing; no cell phone or TV to deaden the pain. It’s winter and cold outside, and you can only imagine the coldness in her heart that keeps her there. She’s been navigating life as a widow and single mom for two years now, and you hadn’t foreseen that it might look like this at this point in her journey. Continue Reading →

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