rebelling against low expectations
I began developing the symptoms of my multiple chronic illnesses at the age of 13. People always seem to feel sorry for me about the early onset of my illnesses, and have expressed their sympathy by saying things like, “You’re too young to be sick.” This may sound crazy, but I have learned to view my suffering in a different way. God has taught me to see it as a blessing. Life...
“We are not human doings, we are human beings.” Sitting across from three leaders (having years more of life experience which I wanted to honor), I couldn’t help my visceral reaction: I wanted to gag. I know. I know I know I know. People realize that human busyness is an issue and we need to spend more time on soul-care. I’ve heard. I do know this need is valid (very...
At first the task had sounded simple enough. After all, how hard could it be to reposition a display of greeting cards? But what I didn’t count on was feeling the display reel, seeing it tilt, losing grip, and then watching in awestruck horror as the whole unit—along with hundreds of neatly organized cards—crashed towards the floor. Unfortunately, three more card displays stood in its collision...
It was one of those days. I was feeling kind of grumpy and I was not in a good place spiritually. So, in an attempt to combat the funk that I was in I decided to do something that I don’t often do. I danced. Yes, you read that right, I danced. It was not just any ordinary dance, and no it wasn’t my awesome moves that made this dance so special. It was unique because I was dancing to give praise...
When you see me, do you see what God sees? Or what the world tells you to see? Do you see me as a face in the crowd or as one of God’s children? Can you see me trying to turn away from temptation and sin when I feel like I’m being pulled in every direction? Do you see my struggle to live for the glory of God, when society keeps telling me to live for the glory of myself? I feel as though often we...
One of the greatest challenges of my early college years was evangelism. It was a time of major transitions for me. I was relatively new in my faith. I was still wrestling with a lot of the basic apologetic questions. Though I was a “leader” in my youth group and many of my church peers probably saw me as a confident christian, I was a pretty insecure guy. I didn’t want to offend classmates and...
It seems like everyone over thirty writes a letter to their eighteen-year-old self. They’re usually full of advice about graduating or dating, future hopes, and reminders to trust God. (Pretty much all the things they wish they had been told.) I’m eighteen now. And since I’ll probably have a lot of other things going on in 15 years, I figured I’d go ahead and knock this...
On June 22nd, I arrived home from work at roughly 8:30 p.m. Like the nights before it, I figured that my wife and I would rest on the couch and watch Netflix before retiring to bed. But this quiet night changed quickly at 9. The contractions became forceful and intense. The pain was evident in her countenance. My eyes widened and the pulse inside quickened. Assisting her into the car, we rushed...
I graduated a few weeks ago, in the middle of a thunderstorm. We could see it as we stood in the megachurch lobby waiting to walk down the aisle. The floor-to-ceiling windows showed us a gray sky and pouring rain, and you could hear the muffled crash of thunder. Most of the other graduates were disappointed in the weather… but I was delighted. We’d been in a drought here, and we...
Surrender. It’s a beautiful thing. Beautiful, yet difficult. Like every Christian, I battle with this. Flesh warring against Spirit. I’ve sensed my human, sinful instinct to rebel rise up within me. I’ve felt the aching, grasping need to control, along with frustration when I realize I can’t. But above all that, I’ve felt peace, joy, and inexplicable beauty in letting go. The freedom of...
rebelling against low expectations
