from an article originally posted September 16, 2014…
I have known Kara for 10 years. My name is Autumn, but I am blessed to be called her Diana and to call her my Anne of Green Gables. (If you have no clue why, be sure you read L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables; it’s a great book). God gave us one another because He knew we needed each other, and I am ever so thankful!
Originally posted Advent, 2016...
Christmas is supposed to be white twinkle lights and homemade ornaments with perfect family members and wishes come true. But that's not how life works. Some people are going through really hard things, and the timing happens to coincide with the most festive time of the year.
Some will be braving memories of a lost loved one for the first time. For others, it's been years but the pain remains fresh. Sickness. Chronic illness. Pain. The list of hardships is long, and most of us know someone who’s suffering—or perhaps it’s even us.
from an article originally posted September 10, 2014…
It felt like an impossible day to get through. But we made it. We cried hot tears. My girlfriends stood by and watched through tears, but they showed up. They were there. And a thousand more would have come if I had asked. Just to smile at me through my tears. And in the smiling, letting me know it’s going to be okay. Somehow, it will be okay.
Pursuing rest over the last 8 months has been slow and pain staking. I haven’t found a manual on how to do it, and it hasn’t been as easy as I expected to find books or sermons or expert opinions; it’s been a clumsy process of asking around, experimenting, and trial and error. I’ve discovered no magic bullet, much to my dismay. That said, I’ve encountered so much grace; when I’ve told my friends, I’m sorry—I don’t have much capacity in this current season of pursuing rest, I’ve been met only with grace upon grace, kindness and love and support. I’ve been met with friends asking how they can love me and how they can care for me and my family. I feared that withdrawing for a season would mean that I might lose friends, but so far, I’ve only experienced a deepening of relationships in which their concern has cocooned me and kept me safe.
from an article originally posted September 9, 2014…
The news today wasn’t great. It was devastating, but we are not without options. I will give details when we are ready. But today, we have today. So I walk into it seeking goodness.... And guess what? It’s there. Today, I could move. I could spend my energy cooking for my loves, my friends, my people. I could cry a big ugly cry, and my deepest grief was heard. I could cry out my brokenness, and I could cook.
