I’m the youngest of five children, as well as the only girl. It’s often assumed that I must have been the favorite in my family, but life was more complicated than that, and it would take volumes to explain how emotional issues arose in a family with two loving, committed parents. I stopped trying to…
A few months ago, I had cataract surgery on my left eye. As soon as the anesthesia wore off, the vision in that eye began to clear. For several days afterward, I found myself alternating closing my eyes, right eye then left, amazed at the comparison. I was genuinely stunned at the difference. It was…
Envy is defined as “a feeling of discontent and resentment aroused by another’s desirable possessions or qualities, accompanied by a strong desire to have them for oneself.” Envy is equally damaging to all parties involved, the perpetrator as well as the object of envy. I think that envy, more than any other emotion, takes our…
“How do you forgive yourself?” A few seconds passed. No one moved to answer. My mind was forming a response. Talking in front of a group is not an activity I relish, but I knew I was going to speak up this time. I didn’t have all the answers, but I had hope and my…
“Thank you for being here. It means so much to me.” Her words pulsed with an unspoken yearning to believe I was there on purpose, just for her. I was dumbfounded. I was serving on a Kairos weekend at the women’s state prison, and until five minutes ago, we didn’t know each other. Or rather,…
Have you ever chased love? Like many women of my generation, I found love to be elusive, especially in my formative years. With the way society’s emphasis on finding love diverges from the church’s view, the waters were already muddy when I first dipped my toe in. The subtle message that a woman’s value lay…