Al-Eizariya

Photo by jesse orrico When people ask me whether I grew up in the church, my answer isn't so clear. Yes, and no. Because I've never been part of the in-group. The other kids would know each other, whereas I would be the one who would pop in for Sunday school or service for a stretch …

Knock Knock

Photo by Jon Tyson Sometimes the conversation ends before I get in a word. "Not interested!" The door slams. Sometimes, I get to wave and say, "Hi, how are you?" "No thank you," they say. Welcome to my life. I'm an environmental policy canvasser (at least, at the time I drafted this article, I was). …

Come Out! A Story of Deliverance

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez When I woke up on Sunday, I knew this day held great hope for me. Ever since coming out as non-binary and pansexual, the spiritual warfare in my life has been real. By God's grace and provision, I have been just getting by. But I knew that this wasn't all …

COMING OUT: “God, Could You Be This Good?”

Photo by Mike Schrengohst TL;DR - God is real. He loves you. He wants the best for you. No exceptions. I "come out," and into the open: not in spite of my faith, but because of it. But first, a little about me. My name is Gloria. I am a first generation Chinese American, assigned …

Our Daily Bread (#NEDAwareness)

CW: disordered eating, anorexia, relapse, recovery Photo by Mike Kenneally They say that relapse is part of recovery, but I thought my anorexia was a thing of the past. Overcome last year, for good. Until I realized, over the course of several days, that I had begun eating much less than normal. Skipping the first …

Tumbling Along

When one spends too much time horizontally, concepts of "up" and "down" shift. After a certain point, I decided that if I was going to have my feet level with my head 90% of the time, better to do some of that outdoors. That's how I ended up laying in an empty soccer field for …

BAPTIZO! (Testimony)

It's been nearly two decades in the making, but I finally got baptized this Sunday. I was given five minutes to testify how Jesus has worked in my life. Here's what I said: My name is Gloria. I stand here to proclaim what God has done in my life, and to dedicate myself to Christ. …

Dreams of July

God has been preparing me for my baptism in an unexpected series of ways. Two weeks prior to it, I had three consecutive nights of dreaming. As someone who can hardly remember a single dream from my own life, this is highly rare and unlikely. Less than two weeks prior, I accessed a profound anger …

Kisses of an Enemy

Fall 2017 When I saw them speak to the class for the first time, my heart softened, and I heard God tell me to get closer, and to show them the type of love I would to a close friend. It would be easy enough, I thought. They seemed sociable, gentle. We had some things …

Summer Rain

In Act 3, Lear is turned out of his own daughter's castle. Robbed of his dignity, and the most base of comforts, he descends into madness in the storm of the night. Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow! He screams at the heavens in powerless defiance. Boston, Western Suburbs. July 2018 AD. The …