Define or Describe? What Does My Status Say About Me?
One of my least favorite things to do is to fill in the bio section of an online profile. There’s so much pressure on so few words to describe my status, my personhood, my identity. Instagram, for example, only allows you 150 characters for this task. When writing a bio, my thought-process goes something like […]
Too-Close-For-Comfort Community
It should be enough. But it isn’t. Our faith and our womanhood should be enough to bond us to one another, enough to join our lives to journey together. But all too often walls are built between us. Status stands in the way. She’s married. She’s not. She’s got kids. She doesn’t. She’s older. She’s […]
All Is Grace
I am never more aware of my status in the eyes of the world than at the end of each year. Christmas in Western countries is about families and couples and kids and, as the questions are asked at each gathering and celebration, my status as belonging to none of those titles seems to fly […]
Part of Your World: A Longing for Status and Belonging
Ariel, in The Little Mermaid, sings, “Looking around here, you’d think she’s got everything,” as she takes in her collection of trinkets and treasures in her underwater home. There’s a mixture of contentment and longing in her voice as she observes the life around her. We see the tension of (un)belonging in considering who is […]
It’s Complicated
“Where is your boyfriend,” he asked me—again. It was the same question, anytime we interacted, and he wasn’t the only one who would ask. Every time I would give the same answer, “I actually don’t have a boyfriend,” to which he would inevitably reply, “Well, you need to bring him to church.” “Are we both […]
This Month’s Theme: Status
Single. Married. Mom of littles. Empty nester. Global worker. Returned. Delayed. Our status can feel like a banner waving above our head, or a garment of shame we would rather exchange. It can define us or just be a word that doesn’t even begin to describe the depths of who we are. What does the […]
Status
It should be enough. But it isn’t. Our faith and our womanhood should be enough to bond us to one another, enough to join our lives to journey together. But all too often walls are built between us. Status stands in the way. She’s married. She’s not. She’s got kids. She doesn’t. She’s older. She’s young. […]
The Brave Choice
He looks up at me and says it again, the thing that he has said to me a thousand times. “Just tell me if it is too much. Tell me if something needs to change. You are my first ministry.” He’s says it so plainly and I envy his ability to be direct. I’m the girl […]
Changing the rules of the game
The organization I used to be with had a “Career Program” and anyone could apply after one year on the field. Even though I’d been on the field for several years, it wasn’t until I was 30 that I attended a Career Conference as a onetime guest to check it out. The main question (or […]