-
Feeling Broken Inside? This Is for You
The lingering daylight leads us to the woods again, and I sink into a moss-covered log while the kids throw sticks into the water. Something about the scene feels alive in the most organic way. It’s like a gentle reminder of how to have hope when you’re feeling broken inside. I’m thinking about life and fresh starts as the moisture of the sphagnum moss permeates my thin pants. It seems the rotting log is absorbing my weight as I enhance the decomposition and press into the dirt. The moss is all around me now, sucking its life from the rotting log’s decomposing nutrients. My mind shifts to Christ and his…
-
Do You Long for a Fresh Encounter With God?
The maples stood barren—kind of like they were waiting for a fresh breath from heaven. Gazing into their spindly arms, I realized my soul felt much the same. I want to live by faith and not feelings, but there are seasons when I crave a fresh encounter with God. My mind returned to a crystal clear Tuesday evening years ago. In a single instant, I learned more about God and love than I’d gleaned in a whole lifetime. After nine long months of suffering through a debilitating diagnosis of hyperemesis gravidarum (mostly couch-ridden and sipping sports drink to stay hydrated), Bekah was born after 14 hours of labor that resulted…
-
Overcoming Obstacles With God: 4 Steps
The cold mountain wind rips at me while the sun scorches my chapped hands with desert-like heat. I spit out the gritty sand and continue my ascent. I don’t realize it just yet, but this ascent is teaching me about overcoming obstacles with God, a lesson I’ll need when different obstacles arise on different kinds of mountain climbs. Overcoming Obstacles With God Glancing upward, I’m only 60 yards from the summit. Sixty grueling yards of rough rock outcroppings and sheer drop-offs of over 1,000 feet stand before me. It seems there are cliffs on both sides of this journey. I’ve barely begun the decade of my twenties, and I’m certain…
-
How to Have Joy in Jesus When Life Is Hard
I reach into my pocket for a tissue and pull out a handful of wilted yellow flowers. They’re coltsfoot blossoms—a gift from my son on a warm spring afternoon. We went to the woods because I’ve been learning how to find joy in Jesus even in the dark seasons of life. Today, my pursuit has led me into open skies. Withering and wilted, the tiny flowers look pathetic in my pocket, and I make sure he doesn’t see me slip them into the garbage can. But before I can release the crumpled symbols of his love for me, something stops me. I examine them closely and feel led to walk…