Search This Blog

Faith, Life, and Lessons

Originally, I set up this blog to document my life on the Kivu Gap Year. However, I found the writing cathartic and decided to keep it going (very sporadically) in the hopes that others can glean some meaning from my thoughts and experiences.

Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps

January 23, 2014

Get link
Facebook
X
Pinterest
Email
Other Apps

Comments

I'm (officially) ENGAGED!

July 26, 2020

I had a phase of my life where I convinced myself that I would never get married or have children, that I wasn’t even meant to do that. I didn’t attach emotion to the declaration; it was almost the opposite. I took a starkly rational and utilitarian view of my life and decided that the time and emotional energy necessary to foster a family was simply too much, and my time was best used in other places. My ultimate goal was, and really still is, to glorify God by serving others in love, and I believed that I would be more “efficient” at this goal if I didn’t worry myself with the very taxing business of finding a mate and raising kids. The underlying assumption was that domestic affairs were always at odds with my ultimate purpose; they were indulgences in fleshly desires that should be avoided if they could (I was reading a lot of Paul, if you know what I’m sayin’). Over the course of about two years, I spoke with mentors and friends about my proposed singleton lifestyle and bega...

I'm Sick

August 20, 2016

Hi. I’m not really sure where to start, so I suppose I’ll just start with a Spark Notes™ version: This past April while I was studying for finals, I was lying out on the grass because I like to feel like I’m connected to the Earth. I got a bunch of bug bites on my back but wasn’t worried about it. A week later, I pulled what I thought was a scab off my back; I realized it was a tick whenever it started squirming in my fingers. I squished it and my own blood came out (unnecessary information, but I want you to feel the horror). Because I was flying out to Madrid the next day, I didn’t have time to worry about my little tag-along. However, once in Spain, I started getting bizarre leg spasms, backaches, headaches etc. I feared Lyme disease based on my Google searches, but it was super unproductive when I went to a doctor over there. I eventually convinced myself those were all symptoms of being in a new country with a new diet etc. Still, I got tested when I finally got back to Nash...

I love you, Miss B

April 06, 2019

To know Miss B was to know what it feels like to be deeply and unapologetically loved. Miss B wasn’t just kind, she was the type of kind that looks you in the eyes and tells you what she admires about you without even blinking. She wasn’t just funny, she was the kind of funny that made me think “I can’t believe she just said that, there are tears coming from my eyes I’m laughing so hard.” She wasn’t just faithful, she was the kind of faithful that said “I’m willing to take all the shit this life can possibly give me, prove that I can smile through it because I’m a child of God, give it to Him, and move forward.” And she wasn’t just peaceful, she was the type of peaceful that declared “I REFUSE to let anyone steal my joy.” Miss B was born into a life of guaranteed heartache. Raised in an abusive home, she ran away at 15, deciding to forge her own place in the world. One of her siblings, only 13 at the time, was already hooked on drugs by then. Soon after moving out of foster care at ...