ARTICLES BY COLLEEN CHAO

Category: Suffering

Category: Suffering

woman standing near marble pillars
Beauty

Suffering’s Invitation

I remember the first time I visited the White House. I admired it from behind its wrought-iron fence, a tourist with a camera. The second time, I visited at the invitation of a congressman’s wife, who gave me a private tour. On my third visit,

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Cancer

Of cancer, gifts, and gratitude

Yesterday felt heavy and strange as we closed the door on 2018. What a year. Twelve months ago today, I was recovering from the first of several surgeries and staring chemo in the face. I’d already spent five months hopping from one doctor’s office to

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Cancer

Three months of chemo

Well, tomorrow is Round 12, my final chemo infusion. It was three months ago today that I went in for my first infusion, with a head full of hair and a cancerous tumor bigger than a golf ball. It was nine months ago that I

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Cancer

The gift of cancer

Four months ago I found a lump in my breast. And the Spirit clearly said, “This lump is a gift.” ~ ~ ~ This summer was the first time in a decade that I felt well. I started sleeping, I had energy, the aches and

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pathway between green grass field
Beauty

Where your soul will grow beautiful

As women, we really don’t ask for much. We’d just like to be healthy. Financially secure. Marry a great guy. See our children grow up into amazing adults. Be successful at work. Get stuff “right” along the way. We want people to love us and

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Hope

Painting

My dirty, sweaty 5-year-old is sitting on the back porch happily humming and throwing fistfuls of birdseed on the lawn. We’ll have an aviary here by morning. And my heart swells with joy as I take in this moment. Little boys are magic-in-the-raw. They’re a composite

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close up photo of coffee on table
Love

Date at dawn

I penned this almost eight years ago in the midst of a desperate season, when I was hungry for the Word and a quiet space to process my hurting heart. A small booth in the back corner of Panera Bread became my sweet refuge that

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person holding a green plant
Community

Kindness

This past year has been one of the hardest of my life. My hubby will say the same. We watched the bottom drop out from underneath us, and at times fear and fatigue overwhelmed our faith. It’s been one thing after another, but it hasn’t

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a person using braille
Bible study

Bartimaeus

He was a blind man. A beggar. He lived long before Braille and social welfare, so he was probably far more desperate than the homeless man who holds a cardboard sign outside your car window today. He begged in order to eat. He scrounged to

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gray soil pathway between grass
Bible study

The road to Compassion

If you’ve ever spent time around someone who thinks they know everything, you’ve got a pretty good picture of what I was like in my late teens to early twenties. I had it all figured out, folks. I shared my opinions freely. I judged silently but liberally.

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Category: Suffering

Hope

Painting

My dirty, sweaty 5-year-old is sitting on the back porch happily humming and throwing fistfuls of

Read More »
a person using braille
Bible study

Bartimaeus

He was a blind man. A beggar. He lived long before Braille and social welfare,

Read More »
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Carry the Message Forward

Help preserve Colleen's message and keep this community and ministry reaching others for years to come.

With a donation of any amount, you’ll receive a high-resolution digital download Colleen made for this purpose —while also helping cover the ongoing hosting and maintenance of this website. Your support is deeply appreciated.

Our beloved Colleen is

Home at last...

From the Chao & Langley Families

With heavy hearts, we share that Colleen Chao (Langley) peacefully made her way home to eternity on July 27, 2026, surrounded by the love of her family.

While our hearts are broken, we are grateful that her passing was peaceful. Thank you to everyone who has prayed for, encouraged, and loved Colleen and our family throughout this journey. Your kindness has meant more than words can express.

We take comfort in knowing Colleen is now completely healed, at peace, and home after demonstrating such resilience and strength. 

We pray Colleen’s words in her last book, ‘On our way home’ can bring you hope in your own lives. 

Love Eddie, Jeremy, and the Chao/Langley Family

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