On being “Abba’s Child”…

“Define yourself radically as one beloved by God; God’s love for you and his choice of you constitute your worth. Accept that, and let it become the most important thing in your life.”

- Brennan Manning -

This story begins in September 2009 with a painting.

We were living in Charleston, South Carolina, knee-deep into my husband’s residency, and two years into marriage. We had yet to start a family, and many nights I slept home alone with our yellow lab because said residency took my spouse away for a lot of them.

I was lonely, emotionally stripped, wrestling a lot with my identity (if only I could say this wasn’t still the case!) — honestly, these were probably the earliest moments of confronting my own “white-knuckling” and anxious tendencies, and my deeply-held belief that love is only true and real if it is earned.

“Prodigal Daughter” by Charlie Mackesy