rebelling against low expectations
You know what is one of the worst cliche sayings ever? “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” I’m not one for cliche sayings to begin with, but that one has never sat quite right with me. I’ve always felt like it was a lie; a saying to give you false hope in the midst of your suffering; something to slap on the walls of a classroom to give half-hearted encouragement to its readers. After...
Jim and Elisabeth Elliot are two of my heroes. I’ve devoured as many books by Elisabeth Elliot as I can get my hands on and been moved to tears by Jim’s commitment to God—and the tragedy it led to. I’ve read their journal entries and love letters, listened to audio clips from Jim and talks given by Elisabeth. God has used their steadfast devotion to Him to fuel a fire of passion in my own heart...
Scrolling through my old Instagram posts, I hesitated over one in particular. In that post, I made how sick I’d been public. It was pre-diagnoses, when the only thing doctors were telling me was that it was anxiety (it wasn’t). That was a very dark time in my life. I was at peace, yes, but that doesn’t change how dark it sometimes got—and sometimes still is. A lot of people told me things like...
I consider myself a Lord of the Rings nerd. Well, maybe enthusiast is a better word. I don’t know about you, but I am fascinated by talking trees, tiny people with an insane amount of grit, daring escapes, fiery depths, and yes, even a wizard who whispers to moths. But I do not only love this story for these reasons (although they’re all really good reasons). I love this story because...
“God, please show me how to live with this!” Three years earlier, Jesus had captured my heart and I was excited about new opportunities he was giving me to serve him. But as my health deteriorated through the next year and a half, one thing after another was taken from my life. Now, laying bed-bound at home, sick, helpless, and grieving, I prayed for God to show me how to live with this chronic...
You don’t have to go to war to acquire battle-scars. Whether it’s in the form of a crumbling relationship, stress over one’s livelihood, or personal temptations, we—as fallen humans dwelling within a sin-trodden world—are susceptible to agonizing hardships every day of our lives. It seems that as soon as we manage to claw and scrape our way back to our feet, we’re beaten...
We sat in the dark as the stories unfolded. Story after story of individuals who followed Christ through extreme persecution played out on the screen. We saw Christians faithfully witnessing for Christ, fully aware of the severity of the consequences. They are beaten and killed. Children grow up without their fathers because they were imprisoned for the sake of Christ. They could be free from all...
Life makes two noises. The first noise is found in the gasps people take when witnessing sunrises, the applause they give after talented performances, and the melodies they make through song. This noise says, “life is good;” displaying the grand and infinite glory of God in all the world. David says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1)...
I shook as the waves of grief ripped through my body. The pain of this one moment had left a scar on my heart that would last forever. My mind raced with unanswered questions. More pain. My thoughts quickly reverted to prayer. Why, God? Why now? Why this? Lord, I don’t understand. Help me to accept this. I cannot carry this burden on my own. It is too heavy… please… I beg you...
Several years ago I got sick. The thing about this sickness was that I didn’t get better. Days dragged into weeks and weeks dragged into months until the months turned into years. Still there was no sure end in sight. Some days are harder than others. My illness plays games with my brain and I start to forget things and feel like the world is closing in on me. I get confused and it is hard for me...
rebelling against low expectations
