I have never been short on words. If you’ve ever read one of my IG captions, one of my blog posts, or had a text conversation with me, you’d know this. If I was granted a role in the Marvel Universe, my power would most certainly be talking people to death. But all jokes aside, words have always come easy and plentiful to me. And I have always – some way, some how – had the right ones to say. I’m one of those people who seems to have the right answer to everything. Ask me a question, and I can either offer you a viable answer, or something intelligible enough that I don’t seem absolutely clueless, but also vague enough that you don’t go off and quote me. But you’ll always get an answer that both you and I am satisfied with mostly because I’m a pensive person who…

As a young lady I always fantasized about the day someone would come and sweep me off my feet. I pictured myself falling head-over-heels in love with a tall, dark, handsome, God-fearing man, who would one day get down on one knee and profess his unending love for me. Then the scene would fast-forward to some elaborate wedding, with me in a perfectly-cut low-back white lace dress draped over my perfectly 12-month gym-toned body, and us dancing the night away like we were the only ones in the room. Then we’d steal away into the night while our guests danced on none the wiser, rushing back to our candlelit honeymoon suite to be together for the very first time… I’m sorry, I can’t even type this with a straight face. Albeit the reality that my marriage will probably be consummated in some back room while the reception is only just…

I am the only woman in my family who drives, and it wasn’t until I turned twenty-four that I found the courage to get behind the wheel.  (Feel free to laugh, I won’t hold a grudge.) I can tell you the exact moment I began to fear navigating a vehicle. I must have been five or six, and my father was attempting to teach my mother how to drive. My sister and I sat in the back, excited at the prospect of soon having two parents to chauffeur us around. My father drove to a back road out in rural Maryland, got out of the driver’s seat and handed the wheel over to my mother. She must have driven all of twenty feet when she realized there were train tracks approaching. Immediately she hit the brakes and refused to move. My father assured her there was no train in sight,…

If you’re active enough in the Pinterest realm, you’ve probably encountered this popular quote: Grow where you’re planted. It’s basically an admonishment; one that encourages us to see every place and stage in our lives – no matter how bad or unexpected – as an opportunity to learn and grow beyond our current standing. If you’ve been attending any millennial church consistently enough, you’ve probably heard a different version: You grow where you’re planted. The premise is pretty much the same. When you intentionally commit yourself wholeheartedly to a space or place, and develop roots there, you will find the sustenance you need to grow into a better version of yourself. Both versions are true. Both are valuable and applicable to our everyday lives. Both are essential to the Christian walk. But I have come to realize that neither will get you very far when it comes to maximizing your…