Judy C. Googins, M.D.

10/13/2025

From Medscape:
COMMENTARY
Alcohol: Bad for Heart, Brain, and Cognition?
JoAnn Manson, MD, DRPH
DISCLOSURES October 08, 2025

This is Dr JoAnn Manson, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. I’d like to talk with you about a recent report on alcohol consumption and the risk of dementia. It seems we’ve been misled about alcohol and health.

First, countless observational studies have suggested that alcohol protects the heart, the brain, and even leads to a longer lifespan. Then we were told the earlier studies may have produced spurious results because drinkers were compared to 1) nondrinkers who had often stopped drinking because of health problems, doctor’s advice, or being started on medications that interfere with alcohol consumption, and 2) moderate drinkers, who often tended to be of higher socioeconomic status and had healthier lifestyle practices.

When analyses were redone or new studies conducted, alcohol was linked to higher risks for hypertension, heart disease, stroke, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and many other forms of cardiovascular disease — not to mention accidents, trauma, cirrhosis, several forms of cancer (eg, gastrointestinal and breast), and shortened lifespans.
Now, a new study that leveraged two large cohorts and a Mendelian randomization approach suggests that alcohol is also linked to an increased risk for dementia, with no safe level of drinking. The study, which was recently published in BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine, is fairly compelling. The investigators analyzed data from more than half a million participants in two large observational cohort studies: the UK Biobank and the US Million Veteran Program. The participants were aged 56-72 years at baseline and there were close to 15,000 incident cases of dementia.

In addition to seeing a higher risk for dementia with higher alcohol intake, a Mendelian randomization analysis that evaluated gene variants strongly related to alcohol consumption showed a monotonic increase in dementia risk with the genetic traits linked to alcohol intake. There was no evidence that moderate drinking protected against dementia.

The findings suggested that drinking any amount of alcohol seemed to increase dementia risk on a population level. The Mendelian randomization analysis suggested a causal role of alcohol consumption in increasing dementia risk with no evidence supporting protection, although the typical U-shaped curve was seen in the observational analyses. The researchers also found that people who developed dementia typically drink less in the years leading up to their diagnosis, suggesting reverse causation: Cognitive decline leading to reduced alcohol intake may underlie some of the protective associations seen with alcohol in observational studies.

These are important findings because in 2023, the World Health Organization issued a statement that no amount of alcohol is safe. Further, bench neuroscience research suggests that alcohol is directly toxic to neurons in the brain. So, it’s time to share this news with our patients and the public. We’ve been misled and mounting evidence challenges the notion that moderate alcohol consumption is protective of either the heart or brain. We should support our patients in reducing alcohol intake and certainly not encourage uptake of this habit for improving their health.

Credits:
Lead image: Medscape, LLC
Medscape Ob/Gyn © 2025 WebMD, LLC
Any views expressed above are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of WebMD or Medscape.
Cite this: Alcohol: Bad for Heart, Brain, and Cognition? - Medscape - October 08, 2025.

09/13/2025

Artificial sweeteners are terrible for women who are trying to conceive or who are pregnant . They INCREASE the risk of gestational diabetes. 

07/13/2025

The children of divorced parents are more likely to commit su***de.

New research suggests that the mental health effects of divorce may linger on well into adulthood, putting children of divorce at greater risk of su***de.

05/17/2025

The cries of sick children echoed down the hallway as Gilbert Handal walked into the measles ward for the first time. It was 1964 in Chile, and the young medical student had been assigned to Manuel Arriarán Hospital’s pediatric infectious disease unit.

Dozens of beds were crammed into the building, each holding a small, feverish body. Some children were struggling to breathe; others lay frighteningly still. Their parents waited helplessly, often outside the doors, while nurses and doctors moved solemnly through the ward. There was little they could do.

“That was just immediately before we had the measles vaccine,” Handal said. “I was just a student, and you're just studying medicine, trying to save humanity and trying to save the children.

“We tried to save those kids, but many of them died,” he added.

Now 82 years old and a professor of pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases at Texas Tech Health in El Paso, Handal is sounding the alarm over low vaccination rates in West Texas, where a measles outbreak has infected 717 people and killed two school-aged children as of May 13. Though measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. at the turn of the century, rising vaccine hesitancy has fueled the largest surge of the disease in Texas in more than three decades.

“All the outbreaks we've had in this country have been associated with the lack of immunization,” he said. “People stopped immunizing their kids, and that was an error.”

Back in Chile, the second floor of the pediatric infectious disease unit was secluded, reserved for children infected with measles. Measles spreads primarily through the air, when infected people sneeze or cough.

The atmosphere was one of anxiety and exhaustion. As part of a team of six doctors, Handal spent up to 120 hours per week tending to rows of children battling high fevers, painful coughs and the signature red rash covering their bodies. According to Handal, the surge in measles cases was so overwhelming that the hospital's internal medicine unit was often repurposed to care for sick children.

He says most of the children were infants and toddlers.

“The children know they're sick, and that's all they know,” Handal said. “They don't know what's going on, they don't know anything, and the sicker they are, the more disconnected they get from you.”

Some children suffered from encephalitis, a dangerous swelling of the brain, while others had gone deaf and blind within days from unrelenting conjunctivitis, or pink eye. The emotional toll was enormous, especially for young trainees like Handal, who struggled with the psychological burden of facing death so regularly.

“When you lose a child, you remember that child the rest of your life,” Handal said. “I still remember the first child that died … He was about five months old and weighed the weight of a two-month-old baby.

“I mean, dear God, you try to really go on, and going on with life is difficult the way it is after you lose a child,” Handal added. “You keep mulling and mulling in your brain: what else could I have done? What didn't I do?”
Before the vaccine, about three to four million people in the U.S. were infected annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Around 48,000 required hospitalization and about 1,000 suffered encephalitis. Between 400 and 500 people died each year. But in Chile, where countless children were malnourished, that number was higher.

Handal said he lost count of how many children died during his time in the ward. But he never became numb to it — just learned to manage the grief.

“You don't get hardened, that's a bad word to use. You kind of cope with it better, I guess,” he said. “I mean, it's just – the pain is too much.”

Handal spent six relentless weeks in the measles ward before getting assigned to another unit in the Chilean hospital. Eventually, the measles vaccine reached Chile and everything changed.

“The acceptance of vaccination was massive,” Handal said. “The acceptance was dramatically making a huge change in the number of cases.”

That’s why the current outbreak in Texas is so troubling to Handal, likely one of the few remaining medical professionals who remembers a world before the vaccine.

Measles is one of the most contagious viruses on the planet. One case can quickly multiply into dozens if not enough people in a community are vaccinated. In West Texas, the epicenter of the current outbreak, immunization rates are strikingly lower than the rest of the state.

Handal fears the world is backsliding. He warns that falling vaccination rates could bring us back to a time when measles spread widely and claimed many lives.

“Measles is an unforgiving disease,” Handal said. “Every single outbreak that we've had has been associated with the poor immunization rates.”

For Handal, the memory of those lost children isn’t just a chapter in medical history.

It’s a warning.

“It strengthened my own ideas about diseases in general and what we can do about it, what we should do about – which is prevention,” Handal said. “The one message that's essential is please immunize, immunize, immunize … protect yourself and protect the community and the other children that cannot be immunized.

“I hope we will not see the measles that I saw,” he said.

'We tried to save those kids': Texas doctor watched children die of measles. Now it's back in Texas
By Lucio Vasquez | The Texas Newsroom
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in
Published May 14, 2025

03/10/2025

Confidential Physician Counseling Now Free Thanks to TMAIT
From Texas Medical Association;
Counseling Now Free Thanks to TMAIT
By Jessica Ridge
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573830-PLOMLU-483
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story includes discussion of su***de. If you or someone you know needs help, the national su***de and crisis lifeline in the U.S. is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org.
In the past five years, the Texas Medical Association Insurance Trust has lost eight member physicians to su***de. In the wake of such loss, the trust has established a grant to make Anticipate Joy, a counseling service, free for Texas physicians.

The American Foundation for Su***de Prevention cites research that physicians are at outsized risk of su***de compared to the public. Those losses cut across geography and practice settings, leaving few discernible commonalities to address. For physicians facing that risk as well as for those who simply need a supportive outlet, TMAIT Executive Director Guy Patterson hopes the grant can improve access to appropriate care.

“There’s still a stigma associated with su***de and mental health issues, and we have got to remove that stigma, and that is why TMAIT is making this investment in [partnering with] Anticipate Joy,” Mr. Patterson said.

Anticipate Joy is now free for all Texas physicians – irrespective of TMA membership status. Through the service, a distinct entity TMA has contracted with to ensure privacy, physicians and their immediate family members can access unlimited individual counseling visits by phone, video, or text with a therapist of their choosing from Anticipate Joy’s platform.

The service differs from traditional employee assistance programs in two crucial ways: There is no limit on the number of sessions an individual user can receive, and the program is distinctly separate from TMA – or a physician’s employer. From TMA’s Wellness First webpage, physicians navigate to a different website (albeit with TMA’s logo), into which the association has no visibility, to initiate the HIPAA-compliant sessions.

Casey Harrison, associate vice president of physician education services, emphasizes TMA’s role as a liaison between physicians and Anticipate Joy, rather than an administrator of the program.

“If [physicians] were to click on a link from our Wellness First page, we don’t know if they’re going to do sessions once they get to Anticipate Joy’s page, because they’d have to sign up directly through them. It’s more just getting them the link, the resource, to get there.”

The Anticipate Joy website’s Choose a Plan step includes an obsolete reference to purchasing a session or a monthly subscription – this no longer applies and should be disregarded.

Physicians in several Texas counties may also find assistance in their county medical societies: Bexar, Dallas, Harris, McLennan, and Travis county societies all have independent programs for mental health assistance, ranging from courses to confidential talks with psychiatrists.

As Texas Medicine has previously reported: No single thing drives a physician to feel unwell. Once a physician feels unwell or is in crisis, stigma, concerns about confidentiality, a professional culture that encourages self-reliance, and simple overwhelm can coalesce into hesitation to seek help.

Misgivings about seeking help might additionally stem from conflation of TMA with the Texas Medical Board, a misconception Sue Mullen, the association’s manager of educational development services, wants to dispel.

“I think some physicians have confused TMA as part of the Texas Medical Board, and, of course, we are not.”

If you or a physician you know could benefit from counseling, begin the journey at TMA’s Wellness First webpage.

At the 988 Su***de & Crisis Lifeline, we understand that life’s challenges can sometimes be difficult. Whether you’re facing mental health struggles, emotional distress, alcohol or drug use concerns…

03/06/2025

Original Investigation
January 30, 2025
Ophthalmic Complications Associated With the Antidiabetic Drugs Semaglutide and Tirzepatide
Bradley J. Katz, MD, PhD1; Michael S. Lee, MD2; Norah S. Lincoff, MD3; et al Anne S. Abel, MD2; Somya Chowdhary, MD4; Brian D. Ellis, MD4; Ahmad Najafi, MD5; John Nguyen, MD4; Meagan D. Seay, DO1; Judith E. A. Warner, MD1,6
Author Affiliations
JAMA Ophthalmol. Published online January 30, 2025. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2024.6058
editorial comment icon Editorial
Comment
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Key Points
Question What are some of the ophthalmic complications that have been observed in patients using the drugs semaglutide or tirzepatide?

Findings In this case series of 9 patients, 7 patients are described with nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, 1 patient is described with papillitis. and 1 patient is described with paracentral acute middle maculopathy. All patients were using either semaglutide or tirzepatide.

Meaning Although a causal link between these drugs and observed complications cannot be established, these findings cannot rule out the possibility that rapid correction of hyperglycemia may be associated with the results reported.

Abstract
Importance Nearly 2% of the US population received a prescription for semaglutide in 2023. There has been a recent concern that this drug and other similar medications may be associated with ophthalmic complications.

Objective To report ophthalmic complications associated with the use of semaglutide or tirzepatide.

Design, Setting, and Participants This was a retrospective case series. All patients were initially seen in a community setting. Patients experiencing an ophthalmic complication in association with the use of semaglutide or tirzepatide were included in this analysis.

Exposures Patients described were using either semaglutide or tirzepatide.

Main Outcomes and Measures Visual acuity and visual field defects.

Results A total of 9 patients (mean [SD] age, 57.4 [11.6] years; age range, 37-77 years; 5 female [56%]; 4 male [44%]) were included in this study. Seven patients with nonarteritic ischemic anterior optic neuropathy, 1 patient with bilateral papillitis, and 1 patient with paracentral acute middle maculopathy were reported. Atypical features included sequential ischemic optic neuropathy, bilateral disc swelling at presentation, and progressive vision loss.

Conclusions and Relevance In this case series study, it was not possible to determine if there is a causal link between these drugs and the ophthalmic complications reported. In some cases, it is hypothesized that rapid correction of hyperglycemia induced by these drugs, rather than a toxic effect of the drugs, could be associated with the ophthalmic complications reported.

Invited Commentary
GLP-1 RAs and Nonarteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy
JAMA Ophthalmology

02/14/2025

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/measles-outbreak-texas-preventable-symptoms/

As Gaines County, Texas, deals with a measles outbreak, experts are reminding Americans that outbreaks like these can be avoided with available safe and effective vaccines.

11/06/2024

Cannabis Use Linked to Brain Thinning in Adolescents

November 4, 2024|Pediatrics
Marilynn Larkin
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FROM THE JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE

Cannabis use may lead to thinning of the cerebral cortex in adolescents, research in mice and humans suggested.

The multilevel study demonstrated that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), an active substance in cannabis, causes shrinkage of dendritic arborization — the neurons’ network of antennae that play a critical role in communication between brain cells.

The connection between dendritic arborization and cortical thickness was hinted at in an earlier study by Tomáš Paus, MD, PhD, professor of psychiatry and addictology at the University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and colleagues, who found that cannabis use in early adolescence was associated with lower cortical thickness in boys with a high genetic risk for schizophrenia.

“We speculated at that time that the differences in cortical thickness might be related to differences in dendritic arborization, and our current study confirmed it,” Paus said.

That confirmation came in the mouse part of the study, when coauthor Graciela Piñeyro, MD, PhD, also of the University of Montreal, counted the dendritic branches of mice exposed to THC and compared the total with the number of dendritic branches in unexposed mice. “What surprised me was finding that THC in the mice was targeting the same type of cells and structures that Dr. Paus had predicted would be affected from the human studies,” she said. “Structurally, they were mostly the neurons that contribute to synapses in the cortex, and their branching was reduced.”

Paus explained that in humans, a decrease in input from the affected dendrites “makes it harder for the brain to learn new things, interact with people, cope with new situations, et cetera. In other words, it makes the brain more vulnerable to everything that can happen in a young person’s life.”

The study was published online on October 9 in the Journal of Neuroscience.


Of Mice, Men, and Cannabis
Although associations between cannabis use by teenagers and variations in brain maturation have been well studied, the cellular and molecular underpinnings of these associations were unclear, according to the authors.

To investigate further, they conducted this three-step study. First, they exposed adolescent male mice to THC or a synthetic cannabinoid (WIN 55,212-2) and assessed differentially expressed genes, spine numbers, and the extent of dendritic complexity in the frontal cortex of each mouse.

Next, using MRI, they examined differences in cortical thickness in 34 brain regions in 140 male adolescents who experimented with cannabis before age 16 years and 327 who did not.

Then, they again conducted experiments in mice and found that 13 THC-related genes correlated with variations in cortical thickness. Virtual histology revealed that these 13 genes were coexpressed with cell markers of astrocytes, microglia, and a type of pyramidal cell enriched in genes that regulate dendritic expression.

Similarly, the WIN-related genes correlated with differences in cortical thickness and showed coexpression patterns with the same three cell types.

Furthermore, the affected genes were also found in humans, particularly in the thinner cortical regions of the adolescents who experimented with cannabis.

By acting on microglia, THC seems to promote the removal of synapses and, eventually, the reduction of the dendritic tree in mice, Piñeyro explained. That’s important not only because a similar mechanism may be at work in humans but also because “we now might have a model to test different types of cannabis products to see which ones are producing the greatest effect on neurons and therefore greater removal of synapses through the microglia. This could be a way of testing drugs that are out in the street to see which would be the most or least dangerous to the synapses in the brain.”
‘Significant Implications’
Commenting on the study, Yasmin Hurd, PhD, Ward-Coleman chair of translational neuroscience at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and director of the Addiction Institute of Mount Sinai in New York City, said, “These findings are in line with previous results, so they are feasible. This study adds more depth by showing that cortical genes that were differentially altered by adolescent THC correlated with cannabis-related changes in cortical thickness based on human neuroimaging data.” Hurd did not participate in the research.

“The results emphasize that consumption of potent cannabis products during adolescence can impact cortical function, which has significant implications for decision-making and risky behavior as well. It also can increase vulnerability to psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia.”

Although a mouse model is “not truly the same as the human condition, the fact that the animal model also showed evidence of the morphological changes indicative of reduced cortical thickness, [like] the humans, is strong,” she said.

Additional research could include women and assess potential s*x differences, she added.

Ronald Ellis, MD, PhD, an investigator in the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, said, “The findings are plausible and extend prior work showing evidence of increased risk for psychotic disorders later in life in adolescents who use cannabis.” Ellis did not participate in the research.

Future studies should explore how these findings might vary across different demographic groups, which could provide a more inclusive understanding of how cannabis impacts the brain,” he said. “Additionally, longitudinal studies to track changes in the brain over time could help to establish causal relationships more robustly.

“The take-home message to clinicians at this point is to discuss cannabis use history carefully and confidentially with adolescent patients to better provide advice on its potential risks,” he concluded.

Paus added that he would tell patients, “If you’re going to use cannabis, don’t start early. If you have to, then do so in moderation. And if you have family history of mental illness, be very careful.”

No funding for the study was reported. Paus, Piñeyro, Hurd, and Ellis declared having no relevant financial relationships.


A version of this article appeared on

Today on Medscape : Get the latest medical news, clinical trial coverage, drug updates, journal articles, CME activities & more on Medscape. A free resource for physicians.

08/19/2024

https://www.healio.com/news/cardiology/20240815/high-daily-caffeine-intake-linked-to-prolonged-elevation-in-bp-heart-rate-after-exercise

Caffeine intake equivalent to about six cups of coffee per day was associated with prolonged increases in blood pressure and heart rate up to 5 minutes after physical activity, researchers reported.A study in which researchers evaluated the impact of daily caffeine intake on autonomic nervous system...

06/27/2024

Energy Drinks May Increase Risk Of Sudden Cardiac Arrest In People With Underlying Heart Disease, Study Finds
Cardiovascular Business (6/25, Walter) reports, “Energy drinks may increase the risk of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) in people with underlying heart disease, according to a new analysis published in Heart Rhythm.” Although “it is too early to know for sure, researchers wrote...the evidence suggests it may be time for ‘an early warning’ about the potential relationship between these highly caffeinated drinks and adverse cardiac events in patients with genetic heart disease.”
From Texas Medical Association “Medical News Roundup”

01/24/2024

Sharing again. This is so important!!

01/21/2024

This is from “Desiring God”,
Written by Jonathan Edwards
MAY 2, 2017
(This perspective ran in my own life until I realized the truths referenced in this essay).
Father to the Fatherless
What to Believe When Dad Walks Away

Article by Jonathan C. Edwards
Guest Contributor
A.W. Tozer says, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us” (The Knowledge of the Holy). What we think about our heavenly Father says a lot about who we are.

But what if our thoughts about our Father are entangled with and stained by the abuse and abandonment of our earthly father? Anyone who has experienced the acute pain of dad walking out knows it can be all-consuming. I have, and I know. Dad driving away shattered the one thing I believed to be indestructible, superhuman even: my family. But family turned out to be more fluid than I once thought . . . and hoped. Like a permanent smudge on the lens through which we see the world, the dissolution of the family distorts all that we know and all that we are. Our hearts beat out of rhythm. Our thoughts weigh heavier on our minds. Our tears flow faster. The voice that once calmed us in the middle of the night is suddenly silent. The picture frame that preserved our family on the wall is either gone or empty.

Warped by such confusion and despair, how do we paint accurate, biblical portraits of our Father’s goodness and faithfulness? When we’ve been the victim of sinful caricatures of fatherhood, we have a harder time seeing who God promises to be for us. The Bible articulates the truth we need, but believing the Bible isn’t always easy. When advice seems too thin, though, and life too cruel, God’s word is the only reliable brush for the suffering, painting fresh strokes of God’s character onto the marred canvas of our hearts and experience. He draws near to the brokenhearted, ready to care for you, his precious son or daughter (Psalm 34:18).

1. Your Father will never leave you.

No one wants to suffer through the absence of a father who might walk away at any moment. It’s agonizing riding the bus home from school wondering if dad’s truck will be in the driveway, if his clothes will still be in the closet. God does not leave us in that suspense. God is deeply, unshakably committed to you. You never have to ask whether he will stay or leave. God himself promises, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

No matter what you’ve been through with your father, if you are God’s child through faith, he promises to never pack up his suitcase and leave you peering out from the kitchen window. In the middle of your loneliness, God is right there with you (John 14:16–18). Even when your earthly dad is somewhere else, God will not forget or neglect the commitment he’s made to you.

2. Your Father will protect you, not hurt you.

Sadly, some fathers hurt, rather than help. They bring pain, rather than protection. As a child, even into adulthood, you may have suffered both physical or emotional pain because of your dad. Your home wasn’t a safe place for you. Instead, it was an arena of fear. Take hope: your Father in heaven will never hurt you like this.

He will always protect you, keeping you safe from attacks against you. His hand of protection is unmoved and never tires. Even when he must discipline us, he introduces pain in love, and for our greatest good (Proverbs 3:12). No matter what dangers you face, God remains an unparalleled source of safety and help. He will not let danger overtake you (Isaiah 43:2–3). He is a Father of comfort and protection, not of terror and abuse.

3. Your Father knows what you need.

In a single-parent home, provision for the family can be a daily struggle and anxiety. Meals uncertain. Clothes borrowed. Aren’t our parents supposed to provide for our basic needs? When dad is gone, and with him a major source of income, we must fight to see through the fog and trust that God remains faithful to provide. His resources never end (Psalm 50:10). He loves to provide for you, because you are a great delight to him. Your most fundamental needs will always ultimately be met in your heavenly Father (Philippians 4:19), not your earthly parents.

Even when Adam and Eve, God’s very first children, disobeyed, not only did God clothe their nakedness and cover their shame, but he promised the ultimate provision of Christ for their sin, as well as for our sin (Genesis 3:15, 21). In Jesus, the Father has not left us wanting. He promises to eventually provide an eternal home, one where his children will never be wanting (John 14:1–3).

4. Your Father takes great delight in you.

Without any love or encouragement from our dad, we can easily question whether we are loved at all. It’s normal to wonder how much we are worth, whether we’re a source of pleasures or problems for others. But where your dad might be silent, God has spoken. God affirms that you bring him great delight. He says, “You are precious in my eyes” (Isaiah 43:4). You are a unique source of pleasure for him.

Rest in this: you are a delight to God, not because you bring something to him, but because he loves you freely. He showers you with shouts of deliverance, love, and gladness (Zephaniah 3:17). Questioning whether you are a delight to your dad is a real insecurity for many. It may be excruciatingly hard to believe that you are loved, but your heavenly Father does not leave you in doubt. If you are his, you are infinitely loved.

5. Your Father does not love you because of you.

Those of us who have watched dad walk away have wrestled with trying to earn our father’s love and affection. Maybe we fight for the merits of academic or athletic success. This was my fight as a young son, deeply desiring the unhindered love and affection of my dad. Whatever the perceived standard may be, it’s no way to live as a child.

Thankfully, our heavenly Father’s love for us is not conditional. He does not love us based on our successes. Instead, God loves us because he loves us. That’s who he is. Even when we’re disobedient and rebellious, his love covers us. Even when we run away from him, he patiently waits for us to come home — a Father ready to wrap his arms around you, kiss you, and shower you with forgiveness and grace (Luke 15:20–24). As Richard Sibbes writes, there is more mercy in God than sin in you.

God reached out to you in great love when you were at your worst, not your best (Romans 5:6–8). Child of God, run freely into your heavenly Father’s embrace, trusting the Father’s arms to hold you because his Son’s arms were stretched out for you on the cross. He is a hope for the abandoned, a refuge for the fearful, a Father to the fatherless.

Jonathan C. Edwards is the director of curriculum for Docent Research Group where he also serves as a lead writer. He is the author of Left: The Struggle to Make Sense of Life When a Parent Leaves. He and his wife Katherine live in Durham, North Carolina.