In Part I of this post, I shared how a season of pain and struggle unmade me (still is, really)…I’m breathing through an anxiety attack as I type these words. The trials of my life have a way of uncovering what is true and opening my clenched fists to let go of what...
This post was originally published by Laura at www.messiahnetwork.org. I moved many times as a child. Five times, in fact, I started over in a new town, at a new school, and with new friends. I remember steeling myself for the inevitable. I donned the fake...
I sat at my work desk clicking away, ear buds flowing music. Someone popped their head into the doorway and asked to speak with me. I share a room with three other people, so the two of us sought a bit of privacy in the corner of a hallway, and she broke into tears....
I'll explain later, but tonight I just really need your prayers. My doctor is SLOWLY tapering me off one of my meds and the nasty discontinuation symptoms hit tonight. I always give up at this point and go back up to the previous dose. I really want to try to stick it...
Crunchy leaves swirl wildly in the vortex. I stand mesmerized each time I see them spin. Where is this unseen, whirling wind and how do the leaves always find it? My life is like these leaves. One minute gently floating and the next spinning out of control. As the...
August 2014. It was time to re-enter the land of the living. I attended my last session of intensive outpatient therapy, and my work leave ended. The annual off site retreat was first time I would see my colleagues from the church & school. I felt like a...
I close my eyes and breathe. Letting go of the chaos in my mind requires a deep exhale and a shift. It's easy to talk to God, but I'm still learning to listen. When it happens, my heart stills in wonder. It's not an audible voice. More like a deep knowing from within....
Tonight I read yesterday's post as the opening devotion for our church's praise team and band rehearsal. It's one thing to release these words into the digital world, and another entirely to stand up in person and share them aloud. I feel more vulnerable. More real....
I took this photo on the majestic shores of Lake Michigan. Each year our family travels north to be nourished and restored on this land. I have traveled the great world to Africa, Australia, Europe, Hawaii and crisscrossed our nation many times. In spite of the...
Patrick Kennedy breaks the silence on mental health and addiction. He told the secrets - it all comes down to that. The walls I build are thick with these hushed words. I am the best keeper of secrets. My loyalty and responsibility require it. I would fit in well...