The Carolina clay has housed our family roots for over a decade now, but prior to settling here, we moved many times across many years. As exhausting as those moves were, they lent timely opportunities to shed excess belongings. Yet, as we settled into longterm living, I began to sense an unexpected weight of weariness. Amidst the bustle of a…
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When the Fear of Being Misunderstood Upsets Our Peace
Through a blur of tears I studied the message, confused by the words it contained. For years I’d served in a lovely women’s group and, sadly, a newer member of the group had mistaken something I’d said and filed a complaint. Instantly, the angst of misunderstanding upset my peace as I realized I’d been inaccurately accused. In hindsight, I should…
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When Life Doesn’t Follow Your Plans
Short on time and long on haste, I jotted a nearby address into my car’s GPS one morning and, to my surprise, the highlighted route stretched wide across the dashboard map. What ever happened to the shortest distance between two points being a straight line?, I thought, as I backed out of the driveway. But as my pace calmed and…
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Seeing God in the Middle of Your Messed-Up Plans
I’ve had my share of daydreams about living on permanent vacation, but this wasn’t how I pictured it going down. After moving to a new city for work, we couldn’t find a home that fit our family or our budget, despite how hard we tried. And to our surprise, this new city of ours even had a waiting list for…
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Thirsting for Rest Amid Stress
I’d barely tiptoed into dreamland before hearing a clamor down the hall. Rising in the moonlit shadows, I tend to the night-owl-noise of my offspring before shuffling back to the warmth of my sheets. Yet my mind has long forsaken sleep, wandering instead through a mental desert of checklists and concerns. A tide of trouble beats against the shores of…
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When You Wonder Who You Would Have Been
Some seasons of our stories are so challenging, they invest themselves into who we become, leaving a clear before and after in their dust. We hold these moments close, protective of their scars, as they nestle deep within our personalities, affecting the way we view ourselves and others. Perhaps someone who was supposed to love you, didn’t — leaving a…
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