When the Blooper Turns into Something Bigger
Trigger Warning: this post discusses violence and includes a story featuring a gun. “Hit the floor.” I learned that particular phrase in...
Category: Stress
Why Did You Ever Doubt?
Do you know what it feels like to start to drown? To feel like there is no way up and out? You gasp for air,...
Taking Your Pulse
At the beginning of every academic quarter, I talk about self-care with my nursing students—just to “take their pulse” and get an idea of where they are emotionally, spiritually,...
Begging for Release
When my teammate and I moved to a new city in Cambodia, we had the awesome opportunity to house-sit for another expat family while they were on furlough for...
In the Breaking, Look Up
I heard the crash, and I knew, before I even turned around. It had been a morning of all mornings, too many attitude issues, too many potty accidents, too...
Let’s Talk About Stress, Baby
When I think about stress I think about an evening in Mongolia when I was sixteen. A summer team was visiting and it was my responsibility to flag down...
A Slow Burn
Like many of you, my story-- my overseas story-- is full of complicated layers of stress, hope, survival, endurance, and resolve. There are highs and lows. We get tired,...
There’s Hope After Burnout
“I feel like I have nothing to give.” I’ve scribbled these words in my journal in more than one season. The...
Burnout Came For Me
Burnout came for me about six years into living overseas. It grabbed me without any warning. Sure, we’d had family stresses, team changes, moves, a medical evacuation, changes in...
When I Would Rather Hit You Than Love You
I really loved the people of my host country before we went. I mean, I prayed for them, I sacrificed for them, I fought for them and advocated for them,...
