Usually about this time of the week, I’d be picking a new blog theme and writing hundreds of words about it. But for the past few days, as I’ve been thinking and praying about what to write on next, I’ve come up empty. For the first time in my writing career, I’ve been speechless. It’s not to say I’m not trying (I am) or thinking hard (I am) or praying lots (I am.) It’s just that in spite of everything... Read more
Over the past year, as I’ve traveled all over creation and met lots of amazing people, one question keeps coming up. “Where are you from?” I think people ask it because they think it’s a simple way to get to know someone. A one-word answer that helps put someone in context. Except, in my case, it’s not an easy answer. I was born in Lancaster, PA, and lived there till I was 12. Then southern New Jersey for 4 years.... Read more
A few days ago, I got word that my grandpa’s cancer is advancing faster than the doctors were expecting it to, and today he’s meeting with a palliative care doctor to discuss pain control because there’s nothing else to be done. I spoke in Boston yesterday, and I was going to see friends in New Haven before my next speaking event next week, but I cancelled those plans, rented a car, and I’m driving up to Maine this weekend to see... Read more
The last time I was in a relationship was the month before I sold everything and set out on this grand 18-month nomadic travel adventure of writing, speaking and spending 3 months in Togo. The break-up was an amicable ending to a less-than-serious relationship, and I’ve continued to be friends with that guy. After that, I measured how long I went without being kissed by weeks. Then months. Now it’s been more than a year. “I don’t think I even... Read more
On Wednesday I was flying from Jackson, Mississippi to Denver, Colorado, for a speaking engagement. On the flight, I closed my eyes and for some reason, I started thinking about all the people Jesus encountered. All the people whose stories we read about in the Gospels. And I started wondering what happened to them afterwards. What happens to the prodigal son once he comes home? What happens to the sinner who’s beating his chest while the priest is arrogant and... Read more
A few years before my breast cancer diagnosis, an OB/GYN had cornered me in the atrium of the hospital where I was doing clinical rotations. He told me he was working with an infertile couple who wanted a daughter just like me — tall, thin, blond-haired Ivy League grad student. He offered me $20,000 for my eggs. (I declined.) After I completed my cancer treatments, I thought maybe the reason why I’d gotten cancer, maybe the reason why God... Read more
You know how some days you wake up in the morning, and you have no idea that by the time the day is over, your life will have been profoundly changed? That happened to me in June last year, when I was on a one-week trip to Israel. Our Israeli tour guide took us to the banks of the Jordan River, where Jesus was baptized. At the river, there’s a long tiled wall where the verse Mark 1:11 is translated... Read more
Here’s the next blog in the Known, Loved, Wanted, Precious & Free Series! *** The first half of 2015 was a little rough. I was in the most intense spiritual darkness I’d been in — maybe ever. And then I went to Togo. While I was there, when the Internet was working (which was a rare occurrence), I messaged back and forth with a friend in California who’s a trained spiritual director. I asked him what I should do about... Read more
On Monday, I wrote about the five things God says we are: known, loved, wanted, precious & free. Here’s more about being known. *** Ethan Renoe was jogging in Chicago on a rainy night in December 2015 when a reporter asked to interview him about the unusual amount of rain Chicago was getting. After a short, shirtless, on-camera interaction, Ethan spontaneously looked into the camera and said, “I’m single!” Girls went wild over the news clip. Ethan says that... Read more
Last week I offered to pray for people every day for the next 30 days, and asked you all to send in your requests. So many of you took me up on the offer, and I feel so privileged! As I read through dozens of notes, one theme became very clear: a lot of you are struggling to accept, love and be kind to yourselves. Many of you feel worthless, unlovable, unloved, ugly or less-than. This weekend I spent... Read more
Sarah Thebarge
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