rebelling against low expectations
I used to be one of those people who looked down on people who started listening to Christmas music before December. They seemed crazy to me. But this year, I started listening to Christmas music long, long, before December. Whether it was the sentiment or novelty of Christmas getting to me, or an unspoken and thankless desire to rush through the last months of 2020, I think there’s something to...
Honesty feels great. But it’s also unbelievably painful. This is probably going to be the most uncomfortable article I will ever write. So be it. I’m done with skeletons in my closet. I hope after this you will be as well. This is the story of my life. A lot of people assume that just because I was baptized at thirteen and have never gone to jail or done drugs, I have the typical “good...
I don’t care if I get fired. I thought jokingly, I’ve got to get a drink. I had been bringing carts in from the parking lot for the past few hours–not exactly easy work in South Florida, where it’s in the 80-degree range, even during the winter. I was pretty thirsty. It had been a couple hours since my lunch break. By now, I felt parched. It might sound cliché, but the water from the Publix...
It’s been slightly over a year and a half since I wrote my article, “How Can I Find My Identity And Calling?” on the Reb. And that year and a half has broken and built up my faith in ways I had never seen before. Backtrack one year ago, and I was finally breaking free from a lot of abominable sin that had gripped my life for months, but had been rooted in my life for years. For about a month, I...
I totally expected judgement. In a public-school classroom, where most if not all people in the class supported ideas like same-sex marriage, the transgender ideology, abortion, and all kinds of other corrupt ideas, how could I not expect it? Besides, I had been brushed off plenty of times when I shared anything God-related before. It took probably ten to twenty minutes just to calm my nerves and...
Lately, I’ve learned a lot about myself. God has made me see the power I have in him, but I’ve also realized just how evil and corrupt I can be. It hurts to see the sin inside my heart. As Christians, our souls long to be to be free from the anger, lust, depression, addiction, and hatred in and around us. In a poem by John Newton called I Asked the Lord that I Might Grow, the narrator asks God to...
“Breakfast!” Comes the call from downstairs. In a zombie-like state I drag myself out of bed, stumble down the stairs, and collapse into my chair, looking as if I’d just run a triathlon. Comatosely eating whatever food is set before me, I begin the long trek up the stairs and give myself forty minutes until I start my day. That’s how my days used to begin. In a state of indifference, routine...
“Who are we?” I wonder if there’s ever been a question asked more often. Philosophers, theologians, scientists, and common men and women have all asked this question. And I’d guess most everyone who has ever set foot on earth has asked this question as well. It’s an interesting question, as it portrays a human need to belong. Everyone feels a need for purpose, meaning, and identity. Whether we...
rebelling against low expectations
