Five weeks ago, I wrote this letter on my lunch break with no intention of ever publishing it. It tells a story that isn’t mine to tell. It was the day before her appointment. The appointment. The appointment that would tell my sweet friend if her baby still had a heartbeat. After multiple losses, deep heartache…
Why I Don’t Want a ‘Normal’ Job: 11 times teaching is the best, even when it isn’t
About 39 times a year, I question why I went into teaching. It’s a crazy life. A life that one can only understand once in the trenches: tying the shoes and wiping the tears and teaching the words. There are some days where on my way home, I am convinced that I am never stepping…
One Year Later: When You Don’t Look Back Anymore
A year ago, I spent many of my lunch breaks in one of my closest friend’s classroom sobbing to her, wondering how I was going to make it through the day. I remember being crumpled on the floor of my little one bedroom apartment, begging God to let me have my way. To give me…
10 Things We Can All Agree On in a Time of So Much Arguing
Online arguments are the bane of all human existence. They are also like a train wreck; no matter how much you know you should look away, sometimes you just can’t stop reading long comment threads of people fighting and debating and laying their dignity on the line. To my knowledge, approximately zero people have changed…
In the Wandering
They say (well, technically J.R.R Tolkien says) that “Not all who wander are lost,” but this is usually not true for me. Most of the time, when I’m wandering, I have no idea where I am. Maybe this wouldn’t be detrimental to someone good at directions. Maybe there are people who can wander far away and…
How to Support Someone Who is Hurting
I can be a bit of a handful. I was talking to one of my guy friends from college on the phone a few weeks ago, catching up and swapping stories about life (he told me if he ever makes my blog, he wanted me to use the alternate name “Crosby*” for him. *name has been changed to…
Faith like Hope: I’m not there right now
I love to write sentences that make everything sound a little more beautiful (some call this exaggeration, I call it wordplay), but words can only do so much when you have things to say that just aren’t pretty. Buckle up for some raw Jenna. It’s been a roller coaster couple of weeks in the area of my faith….
Everything I Had Wrong About Closure
I can’t tell you how many times I have opened old wounds for the sake of ‘finding closure.’ I’m an over-communicator by nature and an over-talker by choice. Naturally I have this deep need to understand others and be understood by everyone around me. I was born like that, but the fact that I never stop talking…
When God Closes a Door, He Can Do More Than Open a Window.
I don’t particularly like the saying, “When God closes a door, He opens a window.” As someone who has walked face-first into many of her own doors (both figuratively and literally), I find this line a little depressing. Because my doors have been really pretty. My doors have had some really awesome stuff behind them, just waiting…
Die a Happy Woman: When You’re Waiting For Something You Don’t Have Yet
A few weeks ago, I was eating lunch at my desk listening to the hit country song, “Die a Happy Man” on repeat because love music is my kryptonite and silence makes me uncomfortable. If you are not familiar with the song, please click here and enjoy the best 4 minutes of your life. Lunch that day…
Count Your Blessings, Not Your Chins. 