Invited to Heal
We rarely look at a wound as a good thing that will help us. Yet St. Augustine of Hippo said, “In my deepest wound I saw your glory and it astounded me.” Astounded him, as in shocked or surprised him. Like Augustine, I too find it astounding to think that, in my deepest wounds, I […]
And a Bruised Ankle Shall Teach Thee
It was 02/02/2020, and I had just run the best race of my life. Not because I had set any time records, not because I had won a ribbon, and not even because I had beaten any personal goals—it had been the best because it was the most fun. Hosted by the faculty of the […]
Look For the Marks of Healing
Real talk here: overseas work and trauma often go hand-in-hand. It’s not always big “T” trauma, like a major life event, but it can be. More often than not, however, in the life of almost every global worker, it’s those little “t” traumas that stack up until life feels overwhelming and unbearable. I know firsthand […]
He Binds Up Our Heart Wounds
I signed up for a workshop on healing the wounds of trauma thinking it would be a helpful tool to share with the widows that we work with, and it was. I didn’t realize how much the workshop would help heal my own emotional wounds. It had been over two years and I was still […]
Where Are You Feeling the Brokenness?
Do you feel it? Today, as plastic Easter eggs lay empty around my house, I’m feeling the post-Easter tension. The tomb is empty! The temple curtain is torn in two. Everything has changed. The Spirit of the living God now dwells in me. And also… brokenness is still incredibly present. In me. In those I […]
This Month’s Theme: Healing
We all have areas that need the tender touch of our God who heals. This topic can feel…weighty. Exciting. Confusing. Raw. Maybe you have watched God heal someone around you in a miraculous way (or you have experienced this yourself). But perhaps you have prayed and waited and done all the things and you are […]
Because He Strengthens Me
Our flight only had about 20 minutes left after traveling for over 24 grueling hours from West Africa to Michigan. We were in a small express plane with our family of five sitting all in one long row of single window seats. Our noses were plastered to the windows as we looked at the land […]
Who Said Returning Would be Easy
If I could write a letter to my weary self in the spring of 2015, as I was surrounded by 20 years of our China life, packed in semi-sturdy fruit boxes from the market… In that stressful season, when my sense of accomplishment each day was how many trash bags I could send down the […]
A Letter to the One Returning Home
Seven years ago, with all my earthly belongings bundled into two 50 pound suitcases, I flagged my last taxi to the airport. I dozed on the 13 hour flight arcing over the North Pole to return back to the U.S. after living in China for five years. I was returning home. If you are preparing […]
Change and the Last Page
I’m not a fan of change. When I was five years old I told a family member that I didn’t want to turn six; I had just gotten used to being five. That’s pretty much quintessential me. I’m also not a fan of suspense, which is an element of change. When novels carry too much […]
Why I Should Be a Pillar of Salt and Other Thoughts on Remembering
There are sensations that stick with you for life. When I recall my earliest memories it is of the blue/brown/green mix of shag carpet in our living room. I would spread bare toes into it and lie on my back, ceiling fan whirling overhead. When the weather snaps cold I crave the thick tomato base […]
The Defining Power of Memory
Last summer my family met up for a vacation in Thailand. It is a rare opportunity to have all of us in the same country let alone in the same house for an entire week. Most days we just sat around the table or on the couches recalling our favorite Mongolian memories. Do you remember […]