Six Lies We Believe About Anxiety

Six Lies We Believe About Anxiety

My voice, high and quiet, barely penetrated the good-humored discussion among my colleagues. Attempting to lead an activity, I was certain I noticed dismissive, bored glances from the other women. Their unspoken words, all a figment of my anxious imagination, left an...
Finding Hope in Loneliness

Finding Hope in Loneliness

She is the elderly woman in the polyester suit sitting alone in the church pew week after week or the frazzled young mother in the grocery aisle juggling a wailing infant and impatient toddler. She might be the middle-aged divorcee’ who envies every couple in a...
Finding Hope in Loneliness

Permission to be You

I was such a people pleaser and in trying to be everything to everyone else, I have little idea of who I am.  Her words, full of regret and confusion, describe me only a few years ago. At times—even after years of seeking wise counsel and prayer—I still struggle with...
Finding Hope in Loneliness

Breaking the Chains of Loneliness: Day 3

The sounds of celebration and revelry rang in stark contrast to the dull feeling of isolation growing large and heavy in my chest. While men and women laughed and swayed in time to the strains of music,  I pasted on an obligatory smile and engaged in meaningless...