“So that’s it. She reached Enlightenment,” you say, closing the book. Not so fast! That was four years, two moves, and 1.5 extended periods of unemployment ago. A month or so after finishing grad school, when I got to the second interview for a job overseas, they asked me about my faith and how it played … Continue reading The Religion Chronicles—Part 6: That Blank Tile in Scrabble

My second year in Seattle was awesome. I considered Seattle like Ephraim, Joseph’s second son. His name means ‘God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.’ After nearly three years of hearing almost nothing from God, feeling almost nothing for Him besides disappointment, and crying or going numb when I tried to … Continue reading The Religion Chronicles—Part 5: Fruit from the Land of Suffering

Although I couldn't move to Seattle fast enough, things would get worse before they got better. I visited seven or eight churches but regardless of where I was, I mostly just sat off by myself and cried. Sometimes I’d sing, but most often I couldn’t. I joined a small group that winter and was the … Continue reading The Religion Chronicles—Part 4: Nothing Good vs A Little Bad

The global financial crisis welcomed me back to America, specifically to Boston, in the fall of 2008. It took what felt like forever to find a job, but I found a church and small group quickly. Almost immediately, though, I realized something was off. I wrote to a friend just a month after being back: … Continue reading The Religion Chronicles—Part 3: Death Ousting Life

China remains, without contest, the best three years of my life. I had two months to raise $32,000 the summer after graduation and, despite not knowing well-off people, I trusted God would provide. My mom said seeing my faith strengthened hers. When I left for China, I told her my intention was to stay there … Continue reading The Religion Chronicles—Part 2: Deeper into the Well-Meaning Forest

When people ask me when I became a Christian, I say it could have been any one of three moments. The first of these came the summer of my sixth year. I’d rocked a small role in the Easter play several months prior, so when the pastor asked a series of questions about why Jesus came … Continue reading The Religion Chronicles—Part 1: A for Asceticism