For 13 years, Stacey Chomiak, fought against her body, her heart and her innate desires. She didn’t believe she could be good, because her evangelical faith taught her the desires of her heart were evil. Then her beliefs began to shift. “I had to finally admit that I couldn’t pray my gay away any more […]
Our Bending-Low Jesus
by on June 22, 2020 Leave a Comment
My mother has been gone for just over three years now. Her physical departure was a time of both grief and relief, for I had been losing her, bit by bit, over the previous decade. My father’s death in 2005, followed by my youngest brother’s sudden death four years after my dad’s, left my small […]
To Live in Easter
by on May 20, 2020 Leave a Comment
We celebrated Easter each in our own homes almost a month ago. Still, according to the church calendar it is Easter. There are years where I revel in the length of Eastertide. I walk through the 50 days expecting resurrection at every turn. What miracle will I experience now? This year has not been a […]
Still Walking Those Seven Miles
by on May 13, 2020 Leave a Comment
First came our stay-at-home orders. They went into effect in mid-March, right at the part of Lent when my forty-day practice felt less Draw-closer-to-Jesus and more Oh-no-I-forgot-to-practice-Lent! Our entire state was asked to give up friendships, gatherings, church and school, as well as all markers of normalcy. Lent was put into real-life practice and felt […]
Sisters In Mental Illness: When You Lose A Parent (featuring Olive Chan)
by on April 16, 2020 Leave a Comment
Trigger warning: Mention of postpartum depression and loss of a loved one. “Watching my dad die was sacred but it was traumatic. The process was so quick and it was traumatic. Having people who care about me sit and listen to the whole story and weep with me; that was so healing. They loved me […]
