Defender of the forsaken – this is God
The Lord sees when the vulnerable are wrongly rejected. He hears when the helpless cry to him, and he champions them. Defender of the forsaken – this is God.
Heartcry of one who overcomes
“I so want to be a woman of grace in all this!” she cried, through deep, wrenching sobs. In that holy moment, I heard the heartcry of one who overcomes.
Earthquakes, trauma – and silences that erase
Any eerie, uneasy silence that minimizes or denies an earthquake - or any other trauma someone is facing - shouts to those willing to hear: Look deeper. Ask, Why?
The blessing of mourning
There is a time to mourn. And much fights against our doing it. But what short-circuits our grief also blocks us from Jesus’ promise of comfort and blessing.
Dear traumatized one, I pray you float
Was there grief in that ark? Yes! Was there tension? Absolutely. And anger. And fear. So many emotions; such great loss. Yet through it all, they were upheld.
Divorcing: When God does what he hates
Once, in Malachi, God may have said that he hates divorce. Repeatedly, in Jeremiah, God reveals how much he hates divorcing. Repeatedly, he laments the nonstop betrayals that did, and could, bring him to do it.
Spiritual sundowner’s: When darkness overwhelms you
Darkness can increase disorientation. It can increase anxiety and depression. Can something similar be true spiritually? Can spiritual sundowner’s be a thing?
Can we talk about shame?
It’s not a little thing to face into something as painful as shame. It takes courage, and trust. Yet to experience the abundant life and rest and favor our Lord holds out to us, it’s vital to let him show us when we’re feeling shame, and how to walk free from it.
I choose light
As I stumbled around, stuck in the fog – confused as to what was good and what was evil, what was true and what was not – my Lord knew I wanted to see. And he kept showing me what I needed to know to be free.