Tell Me a Story: How God Meets Us in the Narrative
My sister Shawna has always been a masterful storyteller. When her kids were little, she’d gather them close and announce, “I’m going to tell you a story!” Instantly, a new world would open—one filled with fairies, dragons, and all sorts of enchanting characters. The best part? Everyone got to join in. The kids—and any lucky […]
When I Can’t Hold Home Together
On a Sunday morning last August, I dropped the kids off to their Sunday morning classes and made my way to the sanctuary, intentionally keeping my face averted so I would not have to engage in too many conversations. This was not like me. I enjoy greeting people and making them feel known and seen. […]
The Better Everything
There is an oft-quoted adage among gardeners in regards to perennials and their growth: “The first year they sleep, the second year they creep, and the third year they leap!” Perennials need to gradually establish themselves before any kind of significant growth. I have been reflecting on this saying and its meaning as I ponder […]
Re-entry is Not a Returning
I thought I’d have words of wisdom about re-entry after two years back stateside. It’s a surprise and a disappointment to me that I am still struggling to find my footing again. I still feel disconnected, uprooted, confused, longing for stability. I am discouraged each day that I realize we are starting from scratch all […]
Let the Grief Waves Come
I stood there in the grocery store produce section, crying over mangoes. They were the wrong color. I had been back in my passport country of the United States for a few weeks, but home assignment was morphing into a permanent relocation. The door was shutting on my time in Cambodia, and the reality of […]
Surviving College Re-entry
I was eighteen when I returned home to California. It was an intense summer before college began. I learned to drive, pump gas, get a bank account and found housing. Not to mention the daunting task of buying an appropriate wardrobe. There were more tears shed trying to find the perfect jeans then there were […]
Secure in the Fog of Re-entry
Transition is no joke. I don’t care if you’re single, married without kids, married with littles, or married with older kids. IT’S HARD. One year ago we were freshly off the field from a fairly intense two-year term. It was just supposed to be a 6 month furlough, which turned into a 9 month furlough […]
Three Truths for Skydiving
Re-entry was like jumping out of a burning airplane holding (not wearing) a parachute. Don’t get me wrong…we did everything in our power to “leave well.” I promise I’m not the person Amy Young writes about in her book Looming Transitions who left sprouting potatoes behind in her bed. (true story…you should read it…Amy’s book […]
This Week’s Theme: Re-entry
Perhaps you’ve been longing to leave, the weight of all you’ve carried through the years overseas feeling like a burden too hard to bear. Or changes in your host country, unforeseen family circumstances or organizational issues have caused your departure far sooner than you would have ever asked for or imagined. But now here you […]
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 […]
Losing Identity In The Return
I bit down on my tongue to stop the words I was thinking from flying out of my mouth. Staring across the table at my coffee date, I wondered how I had once been close friends with this woman? I laughed out of obligation, not because I thought her pop-culture reference was funny. While others […]
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 […]