I had been scouring the mall and shops for over a month, looking for the perfect baby doll. You see, my nine-year-old granddaughter, Annabel, was coming for Christmas. Time and time again, I came home disappointed, as I was looking for just the right doll. I grumbled to my husband...

Despair is an ugly word. If you've ever been in despair or tried to console someone in despair, you know the dark, dark void of despair. It becomes a hole from which one cannot escape. There is despair when there is no money to pay the bills or buy food...