rebelling against low expectations
She just couldn’t bring herself to do it. Her mother and siblings were urging her to join them as they were leaving for a trip–but Elizabeth felt panic rushing over her body, and she couldn’t explain why. As the panic attack stole Elizabeth’s control over her body, she passed out on the ground, cancelling her family’s trip as they rushed to help her. Dark episodes like these continued throughout...
The first time I listened to an Arcadian Wild album, I think I was cleaning a bathroom. Maybe that’s why that album (and eventually the rest of their work) became my cleaning music. When Saturday rolls around and I need to clean so I don’t drive my roommate crazy, I put on the band’s self-titled album and sing along. At the end of every break, when I have to pack up the suitcases again, the...
In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Frodo doesn’t make it on his own. His journey throughout the story is a long, tough one, and he only succeeds because he shares his journey with the fellowship of the ring: the companions who stand by him, with him, and fight for him. As I read the story, one of these companions quickly became one of my favorite fictional characters: Frodo’s trusty...
“You know how something in my relationship with God has been off lately?” I asked my friend over the phone. As soon as I asked the question, I heard a quiet sigh as she replied, “Yes.” I went on to tell her what I theorized the problem to be. That happened many times over the past several months, when I finally came to realize the root of it all: my passion for Jesus was gone. However, what I...
When I was a young teenager, I began to fight a battle I didn’t want anyone to know about. It was a battle I didn’t talk about for a long time. A battle that I tried to fight on my own, without anyone to help me. This was a battle against depression. We don’t talk about this battle much. Many Christians would rather fall silent on it. Because depression is the type of battle we want to pretend...
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.” (Isaiah 26:3-4) One of my greatest fears is the unknown. I have a strong tendency to overthink and worry about every single thing that could possibly go wrong, especially right now–when there is so much unknown! I am in a lockdown with no...
Vulnerability. If you’re like me, even the word scares you. Vulnerability involves risk. It involves opening up to someone and thus giving them ways to hurt you. It involves trusting someone. Trusting can be hard, especially if you’ve been hurt in the past. But without trust, life—particularly the Christian life—gets ten times harder. However, there are still several reasons to encourage our...
rebelling against low expectations
