More than My Trauma

May 20, 2020.Reading time 13 minutes.

The past year and a half, it has been hard for me not to define myself by my trauma. I’m sure others have experienced trauma much worse than mine, but my story is this: I got hurt in a place I thought was safe. A church. A particular church that I loved with all my heart and to which I gave all of myself.

2017: A New Beginning

January 2, 2017.Reading time 6 minutes.

Hello, 2017! My theme for 2016 was Maturity. This year, the theme I have sensed from God is New Beginnings. Sounds like time to start some new habits, right? Oddly, this is the first year in recent memory where I haven’t started off the year with a list of goals in mind. In keeping with my new […]

The Coming – Advent Reflections, Part 2: Hope

December 16, 2016.Reading time 4 minutes.

Hope is essential. It’s what carries us forward in dark times. It’s the ability to see beyond what is now, to what could be, to what will be. God was silent for 400 years before Jesus came, but some did not lose hope, including Simeon, a man who was “waiting for the consolation of Israel” (Luke […]

Self-Care

November 18, 2016.Reading time 5 minutes.

I don’t know about you, but I feel in need of some detox from all the political crises and discouraging incidents going on in the world. I’ve been faced with way too much of the worst of humanity lately, and it wears on you. I’ve been feeling a bit overwhelmed lately. Not only because of all […]

Still Single: The Messiness of Dating (and Holding onto Hope)

June 2, 2016.Reading time 13 minutes.

I am date phobic. I’ll just put that out there right away. To me, dating is this murky abyss I must pass through if I ever want to cross over into the land called marriage. Marriage? Yes, please. Dating? Yikes.

Division in America

June 26, 2015.Reading time 4 minutes.

I’ve been thinking a lot about America these days. There is a long history of hatred and injustice that has gotten passed down over generations. We can’t just judge and analyze events in isolation.

Grieving

December 10, 2014.Reading time 4 minutes.

I guess this is what grieving is like.

Missing her laugh and her cooking and her sense of humor. Remembering her inner strength and all the important things she taught me. Wishing I could have somehow communicated to her that even though I am all the way over here and she was all the way over there, I never forgot her for a second…

Loving Past Irreconcilable Differences

March 16, 2014.Reading time 8 minutes.

There have been moments in my life when someone I am supposed to love has hurt me to the point that I just can’t take it anymore. I don’t even know what the loving way to handle the situation is. Love seems impossible. They have been some of the most gut-wrenching moments in my life. Because to me, love is the ultimate goal. So if I can’t love, I must be a failure.