It’s January and, like clockwork, we start looking ahead. The New Year is just an arbitrary marker on the calendar, but it still holds this special power over us. There are so many ways to change our lives, aren’t there? We can read more, lose weight, start a new hobby, or finally train for that […]
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 […]
Everything is shimmering, red and gold. Stores are brimming with baubles that sing of the season, and it’s easy to get caught up in them. Still, the craving for new and pretty makes my heart feel weary and hollow. Is this the source of the Christmas magic? Is this the holiday I want? I want […]
It’s okay if you hate the holidays. I won’t tell you otherwise. It’s okay if you’re dreading time with family because of deep wounds or toxic relationships. It’s okay if you can’t bear the thought of not seeing the loved one you lost so recently. Or if your heart breaks as you realize another year […]
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 know it doesn’t feel this way. You might not believe it. But it’s going to get better. It really is. A day will come when you feel joy again. Maybe it will take you by surprise and you’ll wonder at the realization: this wide-open feeling, this laughter inside? That’s happiness. Or maybe it will […]
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 […]
I was in California on a business trip, just yards from the beach, eating ice cream and laughing as the conversation drifted away from business. Eventually, somebody mentioned a friend-of-a-friend who had died by suicide. The familiar ache and nausea filled my chest. My insides rattled when my coworker said he didn’t understand what would […]
