Spiritual Matters
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Several years ago, I was inspired by the movie War Room to designate a space of my own for quiet time with God. In our apartment in California, I had a lot of space to work with in our bedroom closet, so I soon got to work setting up a little corner. I used a…
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Admittedly, sometimes when I read the Bible my brain checks out. It’s off making plans for the day, stressing over a thousand things that need to be done right-this-minute, and noting I really need to put on some lotion. It can be hard to focus alone in a quiet room, so it’s all the more…
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Grief is a constant companion from the first moment it arrives. It bursts through the door uninvited, often unexpected, without any regard for what you already have going on. It spreads out, taking over every corner of your space with its presence. You notice things are missing and grief just shrugs, refusing to give anything…
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Chapter 11: Homestretch? My period started and I was very unhappy about it because I didn’t have the freedom to grab a heat pack or take Tylenol as needed. So, I just suffered through the cramps. While I waited for breakfast, the morning news program was on in the background, and I started writing to…
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I have been attempting to post one chapter each Friday. Even though they’re already written, it takes a bit of work to skim each one and make sure I change some of the names and places for privacy reasons. I missed last week, so I am posting two chapters today. Chapter 9: God Is With…
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Chapter 8: Prisoner Someone should take the paintbrush from that therapist because the picture she painted was a grotesque misrepresentation of what my hospital stay would actually look like. I knew something was off the moment my parents pulled up to a large red brick building that looked nothing like a hospital and more like…
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God is My Rock “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” (Psalm 18:2) Chapter 6: Beginnings & Endings Timid. Shy. Socially awkward. Emotionally inept. Oh, and small. That’s me in a nutshell.…
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Chapter 5: God Was There I already mentioned that my relationship with God was weak at that point. I loved Him. I was saved as a little four-year-old, sitting on the sofa next to my Mom, who led me in prayer. I had been subscribed to Clubhouse magazine through seventh grade, but when I turned…
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Chapter 3: Pivot We did not end up moving to Guatemala. I was led to believe that it was pretty much a guarantee. We had our family portrait taken at the Wal-Mart photo studio, those smiling faces slapped on some prayer cards to distribute at the churches we needed to visit. My parents were tasked…
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I have participated in NaNoWrimo (National Novel Writing Month) several times in the past, but once I achieve the 50,000 word count and the challenge ends, the things I write usually never see the light of day again. They just sit in word documents, collecting digital dust. My hospital stay recently came up again during…