Things You Didn't Ask For (But I'm Telling You Anyway)
I think I’ve almost recovered from the last ten days.
Let me first say all is well over here and my flare for the dramatic is just my way of communicating that this has been the busiest ten days of my life in many moons.
If Emily the person was divided into three categories—emotional, intellectual, and logistical—I’d tell you that she was maxed out in all of them.
And so this post comes to you organized in the way my life has been compartmentalized because I have some things I want to share and the one nap I took on Tuesday wasn’t enough to get my brain back in writerly mode.
First up: emotional.
I had the privilege of sharing my story for the Tulsa gathering of Storytellers Live and I can’t say enough lovely things about this ministry. If you’ve not discovered them, please go now—just stop reading my post and go to wherever you listen to podcasts. They capture personal stories of ordinary women finding hope in Jesus and every episode is one woman telling her story to a live gathering. It’s really quite breathtaking. If you don’t like to cry in public, I’d recommend not listening while on a walk in your neighborhood—not that I know from experience or whatever.
As I was preparing to share I had the realization that my entire professional life has been interviewing other people—whether that be clients in my office as a therapist or patients at the hospital bedside as a medical social worker or even now as a podcast host. Sitting in the other chair was a strange and vulnerable lesson in growing my empathy. To communicate your story requires you to spend time thinking about your story—to wonder how it will be perceived, how it will linger in the minds of those who bear witness to it—and that carries a little bit of heaviness even when your story is drenched in hope.
When it’s available via their podcast, I’ll be sure to pass it along. But for now I hope you’ll take to explore what they’re all about. If you’re a Tulsa gal, follow them on IG for updates on the next local gathering. It’s free and open to anyone!
Second up: intellectual (I think).
Holy week. What a week!
We went to so much church I think our kids’ eyes might have crossed. Our tenderhearted son was so exhausted by all the talk of death and suffering, he literally sat with his hoodie up outside the church building on Friday evening. Comfortable with his feelings he very much is and that child needed the joy and hype of Resurrection Sunday badly.
But not before his mother taught about sitting in tension.
I had the honor of studying and teaching about Holy Saturday for our local church and without being that person who is overly excited to share what they just learned, I’ll instead link that sermon.
Holy Saturday is the day most of us miss in the Easter narrative and the day we all desperately need. If you’ve ever wondered about what seemed to be happening on the strange middle day between Christ’s death and resurrection, take a listen. You’ll never miss the tenderness of this day again.
And finally…logistical.
No one cares about the logistics of my kids’ school activities so I certainly won’t expand on that. Your plate is full too and I respect that. Suffice it to say, April has been a doozy.
What might be logistically interesting to you is that I have 3 beautiful interviews coming out on the We Have This Hope podcast before the end of May.
Next week is my conversation with the delightful
and yes, I did use delightful on purpose. After that you’ll hear from on her latest book What We Find in the Dark. We’ll conclude the season with on living life Unhurried.Wow, just typing their names all together made me feel excited to share with you. I hope you’ll take a second to explore their work!
April’s edition of So I Won’t Forget is brewing inside my head going into the weekend so I wonder if any of the new names around here might take a minute to explore my most read posts. Here is where to find them.
Did you know you can also collaborate with me in the practice of remembering? If you’re the writerly type, why not consider submitting a mini-essay for the next So We Won’t Forget. More on how to do that here.
That visual of your son with his hoodie says so much. What a rich (albeit full) almost-fortnight!
It sounds like you've been busy with great things! I'm looking forward to tuning into your podcast!