Facing Truth
The Mirror by Frank Dicksee
Life is messy. When we are willing to get our hands dirty then we begin to become true vessels of God. The willingness of our hearts to get messy is to start to walk out what it means to become the hands and feet of Christ. But messy isn’t just a physical posture. It is the willingness to come face to face with our messy emotional state so that healing can come. Weeds must be pulled up from the deep dark soil of our hearts and expose what remains to the light.
Messy is not often in a literal sense. Often it is in the trudging through truth and being willing to own our part in it. Sometimes the pain of that truth burns us like a cattle brand. But once we own truth it becomes our key to freedom and hope.
Our humility honors God.
God honors our humility.
Read MoreThe Late Onset of Gravity
Miss Eloise’s signature
was scrawled upon the check beneath
Her dead husband’s printed name:
Seventy-five dollars, given
For someone to run the microphones
For the eulogy.
The Contours of God’s Face
Sometimes,
God turns off the light
so that you will learn
your way back
Pieces Go Missing
Screenshot from the video for “Snow” by Sleeping at Last
The day before December began, my grandma slipped into eternity. She’d spent 100 years here on this globe, and was ready to see her Jesus face to face—and for that we are filled with joy. But we will feel the lack of her. We will miss her guidance, her prayers for us, her love.
The next day marked the anniversary of an accident seven years ago that took a beloved friend and mentor from this earth. It was the start of a hard Christmas season. One where tears held their own against joy and laughter.
Read MoreHoly Secret
The old man is snoring again.
It’s the only sound that escapes his lips
these days. So she lies awake listening,
wishing she could rouse him and talk
about what they’ve seen.
Being Found
I have panic anxiety disorder. After many years of therapy, I rarely need medication and have learned to subdue it most of the time. But this doesn’t mean I don’t still have panic attacks. It’s a constant battle for me to discern what’s something to be upset about. The most common time for me to panic is when something uncomfortable happens unexpectedly.
Several years ago my husband came to my rescue during one of those horrible moments when it felt like the earth was slipping from under my feet. He proved he would never stop being there for me, including when I have an anxiety crisis.
We had taken an extended vacation to Colorado with his brother and his brother’s family. We explored many towns and landmarks, going somewhere new every day. One day we passed a botanical garden and spontaneously dropped in.
Read MoreRedeeming Feminism
Author’s Note: This post was adapted from a talk I gave at Hutchmoot, for a session entitled, Voices of Grace: Encouraging Women’s Voices in Artisitic and Christian Community, along with Jill Phillips, Thomas McKenzie and Helena Sorenson. You can purchase the entire talk as well as the rest of the sessions from Hutchmoot 2018 by clicking on this link for the Rabbit Room store.
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In her book, Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible’s View of Women, Sarah Bessey says this:
“One needn’t identify as a feminist to participate in the redemptive movement of God for women in the world. The gospel is more than enough. Of course it is! But as long as I know how important maternal health is to Haiti’s future, and as long as I know that women are being abused and raped, as long as I know girls are being denied life itself through selective abortion, abandonment, and abuse, as long as brave little girls in Afghanistan are attacked with acid for the crime of going to school, and until being a Christian is synonymous with doing something about these things, you can also call me a feminist.”
I agree with Sarah’s conclusion that being a Christian doesn’t necessarily mean you’re pro-female, but I also believe that’s something we can change.
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