In Armenia, people often use the expression «ցավդ տանեմ» — Tsavt tanem, which literally means, “Let me take your pain.” I heard it often growing up, especially when I was sick or hurting. My mother and father, and my grandparents, would say to me, «Tsavt tanem.» As a child, I simply received those words as love and comfort. I did not think much about their meaning. But the older I get, the more I understand how profound they are. Tsavt tanem is more than an expression of symp

We live in a world that celebrates multitasking. We answer emails while eating lunch, check messages during meetings, listen to someone while thinking about the next thing we need to do, and move from one responsibility to another without ever really stopping. Sometimes we even feel proud of it. The more we can juggle, the more productive we think we are. But eventually, something gets dropped. The other day I was watching a waiter in a restaurant carrying several plates at o

Sometimes we imagine that strong faith means being strong in the face of unbearable loss. We think we should have fewer questions, shed fewer tears, or somehow carry our grief with greater courage. But grief has no timetable, and God never asks us to hide our broken hearts from Him. There is a very short verse in the Gospel that has always touched me deeply: “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). Jesus knew He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead. He knew the tomb would open and His