Full Circle

But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever.

—Psalm 52:8

Here I am, deeply, wholly committed to God and to his church, demonstrating that God is in fact very gracious and kind of a jokester. I tried as hard as I could to find a better way to live, to move past or through or beyond this tradition and set of ideas and practices that had defined my life. I separated myself from the language and the circles and the people who represented that world, and I couldn’t wait to find that other thing, that better thing. And as I traveled and pushed and explored, I started realizing with a cringe that the road was leading me dangerously close to the start, and I was finding myself drawn against all odds, against my intentions, to this way of living, this way of Jesus, this way of passion and compassion that I had grown up in.

I’m immeasurably thankful to have been born into a community of faith. And I’m even more thankful that that community of faith allowed me the space and freedom to travel my own distances around and through the questions I needed to answer. I’m thankful for the patience and grace I was given, for the forgiveness I was extended and the guidance I needed.