celebrating being enough

I have been thinking a lot lately about an amazing woman in my life. We have journeyed through life together for a long time now. And right now, she is celebrating five years of sobriety(five years and one month, to be more exact!). That is such a big accomplishment!

I respect her and cherish our relationship immensly. Her journey into sober life led her to a deep and authentic faith...to integrity and truth speaking that are lifegiving for those around her...and to compassion and empathy that hold hope for even the most broken of us all. She lives boldly and loves fiercly.

This woman has held me up when I could not stand on my own and has loved me through the deepest darkness I have known. She knows me as well as anyone on the planet and loves me anyway. This woman has also known betrayal and heartache, lies and seemingly hopeless relationships. I watch her learning and practicing self-care in relationships that are painful, but always seeking to see the goodness in the other person. She has changed her life, continues to work at that change, and holds out hope and grace for other people who need it. Her journey in Alcoholics Anonymous has taught me about taking responsibility for yourself and truly supporting other people as we all try to find our way in this world.

This Lent, I am keenly aware of journeying alongside this dear friend. In this season of repentance, which literally means "turning around", I find myself being challenged by the witness of her life. She openly admits her brokenness, her struggles, and that she daily teeters on the brink of falling away from what she knows to be true and best for her.

And I believe this vulnerability is a big part of being created in the image of God. I don’t think I usually know exactly what that means, but journeying with her challenges me…to see my friend, myself, and others as God sees us…all of us surrounded by God’s love. She inspires me to want to seek and offer forgiveness more often…to try to be more full of grace for others and myself…to sit with people in their pain and love them, because that’s the best thing I have to offer. I have been reminded recently, though, that these are not things I am good at, nor are they things that will come easily in my life...or maybe in anyone's life, for that matter.

Standing with this strong woman makes me want to stand up and say…Hi. My name is Anjie and I’m human. And wow am I ever broken! And I'm doing the best I can. I'll try to remember that you are, too.

And, my Lenten prayer is that, for God and the people in my life, that's enough.

(You can read this wonderful woman's blog at Like the wrench and the cracker...the link is in the sidebar!)

are you still out there?

Hi y'all! For the one or two of you who check this regularly, I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while. I'm back in Atlanta to finish my last semester of seminary. It is altogether too busy and I'm quite sure there is no way I could finish if I hadn't had the gift of sabbath all fall. More about that later, probably, but I am feeling really good...really happy about my life in most ways...really comfortable and happy in my own skin. I think the sabbath time really helped with that.

I hope I'll be able to write more often soon, but each week gets busier than I think it will. So, we'll see. Thanks for your patience...and, if you're reading this...not giving up hope that I might someday write something remotely interesting again.