What is the first thing you do with a beautiful flower? If you’re anything like me, you smell it. Why? Because we expect flowers to smell good! Many flowers produce a pleasant scent to attract pollinators that aid in their reproduction. In II Corinthians 2:14-15, the Apostle Paul says that Christians produce a fragrance too: … Continue reading The Impact of Sexual Abuse on the Fragrance of Life
“I love you” are words many of us have heard most of our lives, but what do the words really mean? Who helped to shape our understanding of those words? These are questions I have been asking myself lately as I ponder how sexual abuse influenced my understanding of the meaning of love as a … Continue reading What does “I Love You” Really Mean to a Survivor?
This week’s post is shorter than usual, but I trust it will encourage you as it has me. In 2018, I am reading the Bible through chronologically. I finished reading Leviticus recently. I must admit it isn’t one of my favorite books. Nevertheless, I noticed something in Leviticus that comforted me because it revealed God's … Continue reading Don’t Look the Other Way!
The day my heart shattered was one of those moments frozen in time, much like 9/11. She was in her late twenties when she told me about the molestation that occurred 15 years earlier. She shared it in snippets over the following year with each revelation cutting deeper than the last. How could this be? … Continue reading Repressed Memories: Why Didn’t I Remember Sooner?
According to the Mayo Clinic Libraries, the value placed on the basic elements in the human body is $4.50. When I was younger, a relative “appraised my value” as much less! I remember him "jokingly" telling me, “If your daddy had a quarter, you wouldn’t have been born!” Apparently, my dad could have bought a … Continue reading My Journey from Appraised Value to Declared Worth
When I was a child, I had a recurring dream of snakes in my bed! Often, I begged my parents to let me sleep in their bed, or I slept with the covers pulled tightly over my head. As an adult, when I finally understood why my childhood bed wasn’t a safe place, I realized … Continue reading What I Learned from Snakes in My Bed
As a prayer counselor prayed with me after my mother’s death, I remember how shocked I was to hear myself exclaim, “My god had no arms!” It came in response to a childhood memory of my mom accidentally scalding me as she washed my hair. Such words would normally never come from my lips, but … Continue reading My “god” had No Arms!
When I was a child, the Andy Griffith Show depicted life in a quaint little Southern town called Mayberry where relationships were genuine and everybody got along dandy in the end. A lot of TV shows were like that back then. In fact, until my late forties, I believed my life was like that too. … Continue reading Leaving the Illusion Behind
Conversation hearts were once my favorite Valentine candy. That abruptly changed one February evening as I walked alone to my car after church. He was waiting for me in the parking lot, his hand outstretched with candy hearts to pour into mine. He smiled and asked for a kiss. A kiss? As the elderly pastor … Continue reading Valentine’s Day and a Pastor’s Unwelcome Advances
Restored Destiny 