Using your spiritual eyes requires empathy, I think. The ability to sit with and stand in the shoes of someone. Contrary to what some believe, empathy is not some crystal ball, demonic, mind-reading trick
See INTO Me (Walking Through Fear)
What this Pain Feels Like: Day 94
A two-ton elephant periodically sits on my chest. And with every other breath there is a remnant of heaviness that refuses to not announce itself on every exhale. "I'm here!" it shouts. Tempting me to tears or rage or whatever emotions are sitting right on the surface. Of course the more agitated I become, the …
On Forgiveness…again.
There’s certainly a pattern. Black person dies at the hand of white person. White person may or may not be held accountable. Black person’s family members announce that they have forgiven said white person. The majority of people oooh and ahhh. Tears are shed. Scriptures are quoted. Rinse and repeat. Yes, there’s definitely a pattern of black folks being praised for …
The Thing About Grieving…
The worst part of grieving, maybe even of grief itself, is not necessarily the event that caused the pain. It’s what happens after the funeral, after the diagnosis, after the “I’m so sorrys” and “thoughts and prayers.” It’s months later when active support fades. It’s a year later when a tidal wave of memory and …
The Problem with Certainty
When one decides to become a believer, a follower of Jesus, they are essentially releasing a degree of certainty in favor of faith (believing what one cannot see). This is actually true across most religions and faith traditions. Ironically, what I notice happening within Christianity—the American strain, in particular--is people don’t actually do this. They …
The Short Answer
Every other week there is an article posing some version of the question “Why are people leaving the church?” American Christians, mostly White, sometimes even well-intentioned, seem so confused by why people aren't turning to the church in droves in light of the dire state of our nation and world. For me, it’s pretty clear: …
HeARTtalk - Healing Through Art and Story 