“What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” A group of 15 socially-distanced twenty somethings quietly pondered our “ice-breaker” question at the start of bible study. We sat in silence for a good few minutes wondering “what if?” It was a hard question for me to answer. I am such …
I haven’t journaled, really sat down and journaled, for going on two months now. It’s not from a lack of thoughts; in fact, it’s the opposite. I’m afraid to sit down because I know that thankfulness and wonder and pain and awe and fear are all going to tumble out of my pen, and I’m …
It’s tempting, isn’t it, to take messy endings and wrap them up in a neat bow of “everything is fine”? To look at difficult circumstances—a hard move, a broken friendship, even death—and dismiss them with “it’s all going to be okay”? I do this all too often. When I write, I want my readers to …
I haven’t made a serious New Year’s resolution for the past four years. Before then, my resolutions were either sweeping statements (I’ll be less sarcastic; I’ll respect my parents more) or rigid rules (I’ll do devotions every night; I’ll write 1,000 words a week; I’ll take a photo every day). If I made a sarcastic …
I’ve spent the last few months asking, What if? What if I don’t get the job I want? What if I don’t get to go to grad school? What if my friendships and relationships don’t work out as I’ve envisioned? I’ve always answered these kinds of questions with verses like Jeremiah 29:11: “‘For I know …
