My disability is not a lesson sent by God There is a less than helpful belief that still shows up in church spaces, spoken or unspoken: that God sends disability, sickness, or hardship to teach us a lesson. It might sound spiritual on the surface, but underneath it paints God as an abusive parent. That […]
Healing
Kintsugi Healing: Healed Scars Tell His Story
Kintsugi – the Japanese art of taking broken or cracked pottery and turning flaws into beauty. It takes about three months to repair a ceramic piece with kintsugi because of the slow curing time of urushi lacquer. Kintsugi is only applied to the most precious ceramics, or those carrying deep sentimental value. The process is […]
Forgiveness is Key to Emotional Freedom
“How do we forgive deep hurt? A good piece of advice I can give you is this: Immediately forgive the person who says or does something against you. Then the devil has no chance of letting a shadow remain in your heart.” — Corrie ten Boom Tante Corrie’s wisdom was born out of a lifetime of […]
Stop the Blame Game When It Comes To Healing
I am disabled and have been since childhood. I also believe God heals today. One of my pet peeves is a person who holds a belief system that chastises others for using certain words to describe themselves. I do not believe I am cursing myself by stating I am disabled. It is not my identity; […]
What’s Lurking Behind Your Wall?
I live in a high rise building with 225 suites. Today, the water is shut off in the whole building while the plumbers fix a problem. The problem was lurking in a wall in my bathroom for what appears to be months, if not years. If you looked closely at the pipe, you’d see that […]
The Masks Were Never Me
I wrote the following piece over 32 years ago when I was in the process of healing from a traumatic childhood. During that process, I identified myself as broken. I believed I had little value in the eyes of God and man. Perhaps God loved me, but I was just one masked anonymous being in […]
No Limits on Wholeness
Advent of 2020. Much of the western world is heading back into a time of isolation and governmental restrictions, and we are growing weary. The yoke chafs against our God-given desires for freedom of movement and gathering with friends and families, especially at this time of the year. Tiny fissures in our defences are starting […]
Leaving Minefields Behind?
Abandoned minefields are hideous legacies strewn across formerly war-torn nations around the world. Although warring factions brokered peace treaties and cease-fires decades ago, these landmines maim or kill hundreds of innocent civilians every year. Weapons meant to keep a particular adversary at bay now lie in wait under rice patties and earthen paths. Each mine […]
Stop Stoning the Afflicted
I am often gobsmacked as I read some responses to Social Media statuses posted by people who are facing a life-altering crisis or who are afflicted by a chronic disability. While the majority of comments are appropriately encouraging and empathetic, there are always those comments that wound, offering clichéd advice. “Get past this as fast […]