Crossing the threshold

I find myself in a hotel room in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, dazed from sickness and two days of driving, and for some reason now is the time I choose to begin this. Don't ask me why, but if you do, I think I'd tell you how this dank, tidy room feels suspended in time--definitely not home, …

I’m going to seminary, y’all

If you've read my last couple of blog posts, you know there has been a lot of growth and self-discovery happening in my life this year, especially in the last few months. I've entered into and out of relationships, encountered difficult lessons at work that have required me to take a deep look at myself …

Plot twist

Change and transition make my inner control freak, well, freak out. But alas, as Layne tells us, these are vital opportunities for growth. Learning to stand grounded and steady during stressful circumstances has been a huge practice as of late. I'm exceedingly grateful to Layne, our site coordinator and makeshift life coach, for consistently reminding …

Roll away your stone I’ll roll away mine

Anyone who knows me, knows I'm into the moon. I have a waxing crescent tattooed on the inside of my right ankle to symbolize an increasing towards fullness--a moving forward and a hope of more to come. I got that tattoo two years ago on April 10th--the anniversary of my father's death--because new life is …

Lenten things

This Lent, instead of giving up chocolate or putting some restriction on myself equally as violent and unpleasant as "no chocolate ever!" (the horror--just personally), I will instead, as Kayla McClurg from Inward/Outward puts it, "[follow] my deeper intuition to embrace the disciplines that will help me 'let go and let God.'" 
Letting go. Letting …

Lesson from Whitman

I'm learning to love myself--to lean into and accept those parts of myself which make me most uncomfortable. Transforming what once was fear, into love. Sitting in stillness and willing myself to feel that I'm magical and divine and loved is quite literally changing my life. I'm learning that my multitudes, messy and contradicting as …

Dear C

"What's your best advice?" is a question I recently asked one of my students as we got to know each other over fractions.
 Said student, let's call him C, is a black man around 60+ years old. Physically, we could not be more opposite of each other. If you saw us standing on a street …

Disoriented

Leaning into the discomfort of not having answers, of not knowing the plan, has been the great struggle of my life. Fear, in so many forms, has taken over my mind more times than I can tell you.
 Making friends with fear while distancing myself from it is a contradiction that can sometimes take all …

Y YAV?

YAV. The Presbyterian Church (USA) is infamous for our ambiguous acronyms. For a demonination that promotes inclusivity, we can be pretty exclusive (cough Montreat cult cough). We have the best of intentions! Regardless, I'm proud to be a Presby nerd. I am a cradle Presbyterian. As in, born and raised in the PC(USA). I went …

What’s left of my dad?

How do we forgive our Fathers?
 / Maybe in a dream
 / Do we forgive our Fathers for leaving us too often or forever
 when we were little?
 / Maybe for scaring us with unexpected rage / 
or making us nervous
 because there never seemed to be any rage there at all.
 / Do we forgive …