I will never forget the look on his face. A look of confusion, bewilderment and disbelief shrouded my husband's face the day he came home from work. I was in the kitchen preparing dinner when he came in and handed me a letter from his office, expressing that due to necessary restructuring, his service was no longer needed. The news was like a heavy blow that completely caught us off guard. How did we go from preparing a family meal to not knowing where our next meal would come from? In the midst of the storm we felt brewing around us, we both resolved within our hearts to trust the Lord, no matter what the future held. Yet as the days and weeks went on, we definitely had our moments of doubt, despair and defeat. As my husband began the process of searching for new employment Continue Reading
We are Made to Brave our Past {Made for Brave Sisterhood}
I’ve spent most of my life running from my past. I’ve boxed up memories, thoughts, and things I felt too painful to face. And because of this, I lived in chains. Fear of the reminders. Anxiety about the memories. Avoidance of people, places, things that would spark the thoughts that brought pain. I was living, but I wasn’t living freely or fully. One of my top priorities was to live without accepting what had happened in my past. In denial, I could claim some sense of sanity. My past had become an idol of sorts. I would do anything to avoid it, even avoid God. And so when my past came knocking, as anything we run from eventually will, my faith suffered immensely. It was my sophomore year of college when all my running finally caught up with me. I was flooded with Continue Reading
7 Sweet Reminders for How to Forgive
Can I be honest with you? I’m not that great at knowing how to forgive! It's just not very easy sometimes, when all the pain and hurt wells up inside and spills over all ugly. When we come face to face with the shame and regret and anger, and it flows straight from our heart and out of our mouth with the force of a spewing geyser. And then it’s too late. It’s too late to take it all back and tuck it away nicely and pretend it never happened. Because the debris of what's left behind from our suffering now lies is someone else's life. And the regret hangs heavy . We find ourselves thrust into the dark space of unresolved and unintended. Too many triggers to be covered in compassion. Too many offenses to bow in the presence of mercy. a broken heart~ a betrayal of Continue Reading
Our Longing Is His Gift
Last week, there was such an outpouring and common interest in accessing the gift of stillness, particularly when faced with the hard circumstances of life. I described a bit of my own struggle with surrendering to the quiet calm. But there's something more. There's a rich gift waiting for us on the edge of stillness...presence. We were created for presence. We were fashioned out of a desire for fellowship and companionship. We're designed to inhabit and occupy and be. Yet, too often the very gift of presence is only treasured when it no longer exists. How do we practice being, and how do we get to the place of complete contentment? I think the answer lies in learning to embrace the presence of God in our life...in all of our life. And the more we seek out those moments, the Continue Reading