rebelling against low expectations
One night I dreamed a dream. As I was walking along the beach with my Lord, Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, One belonging to me and one to my Lord. After the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that many times along the path of my life, Especially at the very...
We live in the shadows of rejected Light, Where darkness praises morning’s thief; Yet one day soon, dawn shall burn bright. We live in the lowlands of earth’s broken blight, Where death is claiming victory; We live in the shadows of rejected Light. Our souls rest trembling in the night, Our spirits bound in faint belief; Yet we know soon, dawn shall burn bright. And we deeply bear these words I...
I used to suffer from crippling fear that stole my sleep, health, and way of life. Eventually my fear became officially called anxiety disorder and OCD, but with or without a fancy label, fear was a part of my life. While much of my fear stemmed from these problems in my brain… some of it was just plain human fear. No matter which kind of fear a person faces, we all long for it to go away. Though...
I stared up into the darkness of the hotel room, my mind reeling. God, what did I do to deserve this? A knot of fear sat heavily in my stomach, haunting me. The fear that clenched me was something I hadn’t experienced at that level before. I was under spiritual attack. I tried to breathe deeply, mentally singing the lyrics of one of my favorite hymns. Crown Him with many crowns / The Lamb upon...
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! I groan and fumble in the dark to find my phone. I squint to make out the time. 6:30a.m. I wriggle out of bed and begin getting ready for school. The next thirty minutes are a blur. I finally make it to the car with my breakfast in one hand and my Spanish flashcards in the other. The school day passes by uneventfully. Classes, tests, quizzes, and lunch just like every other day...
If you’re like me, you may recall seasons of vibrancy and zeal in your Christian life. Spiritual disciplines come easy: time in God’s Word is fruitful, prayer is often, the gap between each journal entry is minimal, and fellowship brings glee. The streams of God’s endless love and grace flowing from the fount of Christ are delightful to drink. But if you’re like me, you may also recall seasons of...
“You’re strong enough to get through this.” I hear and read that comment often, and each time it makes my heart hurt. Sometimes it stops at that – a little hurt. But sometimes, in those dark moments for which “you are strong enough” is intended, it doesn’t just make my heart hurt. No, it makes it rip open and bleed. “You’re strong enough to do this. You’re strong enough for this trial. You’re...
It happened so quickly, there was no way to know, no way to prepare… “We’re going to wreck!” I shouted to my passengers. They were my younger sister, Roseanna and her friend, Nikki. The car spun out of control on the wet road. It was hit by oncoming traffic. When it came to a stop, it burst into flames. There I was, behind the wheel, reaching for the handle to open the driver’s door. Roseanna was...
rebelling against low expectations
