rebelling against low expectations
I once had a pair of shoes that I wore until the bottoms were so thin that rocks poked up through the soles and my toes poked down. I wore them even though my mother said that they weren’t presentable, because I thought they were comfortable. They made me feel sassy and confident and tough and earthy. I wore them until socks would have protected my feet more than those shoes. And when I...
What do you do when someone knocks at your door? Jesus is knocking at the door of our hearts. He desires us to open up and let Him have full access to every area of our lives. He has made a way for us to have a relationship with God through His death and resurrection on the cross. But, it is our responsibility to respond to His call for fellowship. He says, “Behold, I stand at the door and...
“Dear God, help me keep this attitude. I’m not feeling this way on my own.” I was sitting in the car and turning over the question in my head: How do I balance romantic dreams with contentment in God’s will? I was not thinking of a specific relationship, but in that moment I decided, nonetheless, that I would be content with whatever God had for me in the future. Yes, I was only a young...
I’ll never forget the day that I stepped onto the airplane at the Atlanta airport. This wasn’t just any plane or a normal trip. I was going to Australia. I was terrified, I was excited, and I was questioning my decision all at the same time. I thought I had lost my mind. About a year earlier, during my senior year of highschool, I felt God leading me to do something that was missions-focused...
Even before I started high school, people were already asking me about my plans for the future. “What are you going to do after high school?” they would ask. “What do you want to be when you grow up? Are you going to college?” I would answer, “I have a couple ideas of what I want to do, but I’m not sure yet,” or even, “I have no clue.” A couple of years ago, I didn’t feel pressured to know what I...
Have you ever put the wrong key into a lock? The key goes in, but, try as you might to get it to turn, it will not open the lock. It can take a while to discover your mistake–some of us spend far longer trying to get it to work than others–but in the end, when the error is finally realized, we feel so silly! How could such a simple solution be so difficult to see? In our world today...
My feet pounded the track, and I was out of breath. I was struggling, pushing hard…and then someone lapped me. Track is hard. I’ll be honest with you and tell you I was not a runner when I joined the middle school track team last spring. I got 16th place in a mile race with only 16 runners, and I was lapped quite often. I tried hard, but I was frequently discouraged. Still, I’m thankful...
Life makes two noises. The first noise is found in the gasps people take when witnessing sunrises, the applause they give after talented performances, and the melodies they make through song. This noise says, “life is good;” displaying the grand and infinite glory of God in all the world. David says, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1)...
I shook as the waves of grief ripped through my body. The pain of this one moment had left a scar on my heart that would last forever. My mind raced with unanswered questions. More pain. My thoughts quickly reverted to prayer. Why, God? Why now? Why this? Lord, I don’t understand. Help me to accept this. I cannot carry this burden on my own. It is too heavy… please… I beg you...
I’ve felt so strongly that there’s something moving in me that needs to be paired with words, and I have not for the life of me been able to figure it out. And maybe that resonates with you; The uncertainty in waiting for answers, the discomfort not having clarity brings, the frustration that comes with floating in the mind’s abyss waiting for traction. We wrestle deeply with the reality that...
rebelling against low expectations
