“I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know what to think. I hadn’t prayed in a really long time… and then something just broke open.” There’s a kind of running that doesn’t look like rebellion on the outside at first. It looks like survival.It looks like trying to...
Some stories begin with a quiet ache. Mine began with a slam, the sound of dishes, doors, and dignity hitting hard surfaces. For most of my life, anger was the air I breathed. A turbulent relationship with my mother and severe childhood trauma hardened into an...
If you had told 20-year-old me, scared, pregnant, and heartbroken, that I’d one day be sitting across from other women in crisis, telling them they’re not alone, I’m not sure I would’ve believed you. But that’s what God does. He takes what feels like the end and turns...
“What have you done to my daughter?” Mom yelled at my stepfather, Oscar, as she grabbed me to get a closer look. “Her hair will grow out thicker,” he explained. I was about three years old when Oscar shaved all my hair off. As I got older, Mom made it a point that I...
Growing up in a fractured family, I doubt I understood genuine love. This yearning led me astray as I sought "love" in all the wrong places. By age 16, I found myself pregnant with my first child. Faced with the ultimatum to either terminate my pregnancy or go live...
I was in fourth grade when I went to the wedding of my childhood pastor. I was enamored with the couple in front of me. As a nine-year-old, I sat at the reception table after the ceremony and silently prayed, “Lord, I want to be a pastor’s wife one day.” I...
For as long as I can remember, my biggest struggles were feeling inadequate and unworthy. I was told for a large part of my life that I would never amount to anything by someone I was supposed to be able to turn to. I had no idea where to find self-worth, and there...
Humans make terrible mistakes; we can deeply hurt the ones we love and leave scars. We don’t remember why, or the why is not important anymore, but the scars remain. One of the most difficult, hurtful relationships in my life was with my mother. Her unhappiness...
I grew up as the only child of two very functional alcoholics/drug users. My early years consisted of tremendous uncertainty and many secrets. My dad was a very angry man and we never knew what kind of mood he would be in. He...