Visceral Feelings Mean Something

Visceral Feelings Mean Something

This is a story about how following my visceral feelings benefitted me. And my favorite story to tell. When I went off to college, I wasn’t looking for love. I had been dating my high school sweetheart for 3 years. When I went home for Thanksgiving, we got engaged. I...
When your parents encourage dating.

When your parents encourage dating.

I don’t know exactly how it all happened. He was an immature 16 year old. I was a mature 13 year old. I think I had just gotten my braces on, but still— my teeth were seriously big and buck. And I was in my most awkward phase ever. And yet…he asked me out. I wasn’t...
Trauma is a funny thing.

Trauma is a funny thing.

Sitting in a giant auditorium on the University of Washington campus as a college freshman, I first realized I had been sexually abused. The abuse was several years in the rear-view mirror. But it wasn’t until that hundred-question survey for psychological research,...
Four years without running water and electricity

Four years without running water and electricity

When I meet people for the first time, I like to mention that I lived without running water or electricity for four years of my life. It’s an interesting fact about me. At the time, it was terrible-awful-horrible. I finished kindergarten in California and a few...
How I know God is real.

How I know God is real.

It was a hot, still summer day. Grandma said it was a perfect day to spray some weeds, so we set about gathering the supplies for the first time that season. I don’t know how so many storage spaces got so full after only a couple years of living there, but we could...
The best advice

The best advice

The railing on the second-story deck was not yet installed, so I had to stay far away from the edge. My hands are getting sweaty just thinking about it right now. Grandma and I were sitting there enjoying the sunny day. We weren’t doing anything. We were just being...