Confessions of God's Most Talkative Child

  When I was in college, I used to do my best to memorize a Bible verse every week and then apply it to my life. One of the verses I have never forgotten is Exodus 14:14, which says, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to hold your peace.” When you are struggling through premed classes at a very prestigious and predominantly white institution as a young Black woman, you really need God to fight those battles for you. But the part of that verse that always made me pause was the second half: hold your peace. What does that even mean? We all know that peace is not something tangible or easy to access. Yet God tells us to hold it . I think that’s exactly why it’s included in the Bible. God knew this would be something many of us would struggle with, because it’s not something we can physically hold to ground us. And yet, somehow, if we do hold it, it grounds us anyway. Imagine you are on the front line of a very intense battle. I’m talking about cannons going off—spears, bullet...

One of my dearest friends has been teasing me a lot lately because I’m in my “I don’t care era.” This friend is always telling me that too much of that may not be good. However, when you have been on the opposite side of that, there is so much more harm to yourself than the good for those receiving so much of your care. Over the last few weeks, the story of Leah has really struck me. For those of you who are not familiar, Leah was the first wife of Jacob-not the one he wanted, but the one he got first. Jacob was actually in love with her younger sister, Rachel, and wanted to marry her so her father (his uncle…Yea messy I know) told him that if he worked for seven years he would give Rachel to Jacob. He worked those seven years, but then his uncle basically said “oh nahhh in our culture the younger daughter can’t get married before the older so you gotta marry Leah first.” So, he did that and worked another 7 years because he wanted Rachel. 14 years of labor for the one he actually wa...

"Five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear Five hundred twenty-five thousand, six hundred minutes How do you measure, measure a year?" How does one measure a year? Well, for me, a year ago I decided to step out of my comfort zone and write this very blog. I did not know what to expect. I did not know how it was going to be received. I did not even know if I would have something to write about every single week. But I did it. (Granted, I know that for the last half of the year I did not put anything out there, but I was still coming up with things!) I was consistent with something to the point where I had a specific seat in the house that all of my ideas would flow from, and I would sit there and write until it was ready to be posted. I could literally measure my state of mind depending on the blog I was writing and the message I needed for that week. It was very encouraging to receive so much love and support from...

  I live in a part of the country where the weather is wildly unpredictable from fall to spring. Technically, it’s spring now, but it’s been cold with only fake sunshine peeking out. Just last weekend, we got a couple of inches of snow—which caught us all off guard because… it’s April?? Anyhoo, with this capricious weather come the rare days when it’s absolutely beautiful. On those days, I take full advantage and go for a long walk around my neighborhood. That’s where Tuesday found me. Before I headed out, the sun was shining brightly—beckoning me to join her, her rays whispering, “Come join me!” So I did. But as soon as I started walking, the sun disappeared. Still, I wasn’t about to let that stop me. I was determined to hit my 10,000-step goal. Somewhere around my fourth or fifth lap around the neighborhood (it usually takes about 8–10 laps to hit my goal), it started to drizzle. Now, I knew it was supposed to rain—but I assumed it would happen later in the afternoon, after my ...

I can already imagine the eye-rolls from some guys seeing this title and the emphatic nods from some ladies saying, “Yup.” But before you jump to conclusions, keep reading because I guarantee we are not thinking about the same thing. Yesterday, I was talking to my sister, when she said something that stuck out to me: “God is so funny because He could easily make this become this like that, but He didn't." It got me thinking. There are so many moments in our lives where God could do something instantly. If He wanted to, He would... right? I remember this one creator on TikTok who always came for people in 5 seconds without even saying hi. One that lives rent-free in my head is:  If you were really ready for what you’re asking God for, don’t you think He would’ve already given it to you? Whew. Clocked my tea. But that’s a genuine question. It made me reflect on how often we pray—sometimes even beg—for things. But in truth, many of us aren’t even preparing to receive them. We...