rebelling against low expectations
“I can’t, but thanks for the invite.” The sentence echoes on my lips, spoken to more people than I remember. I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to say no. I thrive on adventure and exploration. I’m a social butterfly. And yet, I’ve said so many no’s I never wanted to. I wasn’t always this way. But when I first got sick as a young teen, I watched as “out of sight, out of mind” became a...
How do you do hard things…when you can’t even get out of bed? Sara Willoughby—long-time rebelutionary and author of He’s Making Diamonds: A Teen’s Thoughts on Faith Through Chronic Illness—was given a few months to live at the age of 15. Over the course of several years, she was diagnosed with Lyme disease, toxic mold poisoning, and MCS. In this honest and vulnerable conversation, we talk about...
When someone we love receives a chronic illness diagnosis, it is easy to feel helpless. It doesn’t matter if they are our younger brother, our mother, or our best friend. We can still feel like we are too young to help them. For most of us chronic illness is huge and scary and unknown. What can we possibly do? Yet you don’t have to be a certain age to love someone. Love is about relationships...
I began developing the symptoms of my multiple chronic illnesses at the age of 13. People always seem to feel sorry for me about the early onset of my illnesses, and have expressed their sympathy by saying things like, “You’re too young to be sick.” This may sound crazy, but I have learned to view my suffering in a different way. God has taught me to see it as a blessing. Life...
My heart broke as yet another chronically ill teen unwittingly voiced questions and struggles I’d heard over and over again. Most of us don’t know it, but we all seem to have the same questions. Perhaps there are some variations in wording and scenarios, but those questions you are ashamed to verbalize? So many others have wondered the same things. You know what? It’s okay to ask those questions...
I had an unplanned chat with God today. I sat on the cold floor, crying. He sat with me, Said, “I see you trying.” I spilled my heart out, Bleeding, tired. He held my hand, Waiting, quiet. He didn’t say much… Allowed my heart to fall apart. So, I watched it rip to pieces, Leaving scars I can’t erase. Fractured bits swirled in the waters, He took my hand and held my gaze. And then, I stood, So...
A company of twinkling stars do battle against an ever-growing darkness. A clash of glittering hope and ravaging despair that does not even spare its own servants. While an army of starlit souls press on the black tides, two lone stars have crossed the line of shadows to thrust the light into its ever-darkening heart. Within this pair a different battle wages, it is one thing to press against a...
There are many things in life that can get us down. Daily struggles and difficult situations try to steal our joy all the time. This is something I personally have experienced in my life. But God doesn’t want us to live in constant sorrow. In fact, He came so that we might experience His joy even in the middle of our struggles and hard seasons. Here are three reasons we can rejoice in the Lord...
Do you feel stuck in a season of waiting? Waiting for a relationship. Waiting for healing from chronic illness. Waiting to graduate. Waiting for the next season of life. Waiting… waiting… waiting. There are so many things we wait for in life. In this episode, Sara and Tabitha share about things they’re waiting for and how to keep hoping, trusting, and living in seasons of...
I’m halfway through my first semester of college now, which is really hard to believe. It’s been a rollercoaster, but it’s been teaching me a lot, and I want to share some of that with you. It’s Okay to Change Your Major When I came to college I had everything planned out—my major, whether or not I wanted to go to graduate school, and my career. Then I got to school. It was only about two weeks...
rebelling against low expectations
