Receiving a mental health diagnosis is never easy. Many of us feel irreparably broken, damaged beyond repair, or just plain not enough when we receive that label. But the truth is that our God-given dignity and worth is still fully intact and undamaged, despite how we feel. My friend Abigail Alleman knows what it’s like […]
I know you know what it’s like to think, “If I could just try harder, it would get better.” I know you know what it’s like to push as hard as you can, barely holding yourself together, feeling like it will never be enough. I know those feelings, too. That’s why I’m so thrilled to […]
I know that if I can somehow let down my guard enough to let you see that you’re not the only one struggling, it might just be healing. It might just be a little bit life-giving.
For he made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:21 We talk about the supper. In still and gentle tones, the last message of a dying man, shared and sung around the table in time-honored tradition. Love […]
After weeks of working, trying to make it better, trying to bring restoration, they finally heard the word of God. The priest read and the Levites explained the meaning for hours, filling in huge gaps in Israel’s collective memory. They have come to rebuild and inhabit Jerusalem after long, hard years of exile. And now, […]
Note: this article was originally written several years ago, before the pandemic and social distancing became necessities. While Christmas may feel very different this year for many of us, one thing that hasn’t changed is the invitation to slow down and experience Christ as Immanuel, God With Us. We might just need that now more […]
We’re not supposed to have problems with the Bible. We know we’re “supposed” to have this vibrant relationship with Scripture. That it’s supposed to be a lifeline and encouragement. But what about when it’s not? What happens: When your eyes move across the page but you can’t even remember what you read? Or when the […]
The room was semi-dark; if I sat at the edge, nobody could really see my face. I liked it that way. In a room full of church leaders and staff, passionately praying for God to move and transform lives, I couldn’t connect with their zeal. I was probably in a season of depression, or lone […]
I was twenty and terrified, standing unannounced on their porch on a hot July night. My legs froze and nausea filled me. I felt like every moment was never-ending, like I was eternally dying inside. Before coming, I’d meticulously covered the long gashes on my thighs. I was there to tell the truth, but I […]
I sat at a stoplight, trembling with anxiety’s rattle and hum. The sky was bleak with charcoal clouds seemed to mirror my soul. The familiar fog of depression had rolled in and I was weary of the struggle. It was exhausting: wrestling to be whole, never shaking the bone-deep loneliness. The fog formed a dense […]
