Sarah M. Wells

From Gilded to Gold

It is hard to keep up with all that is swiftly unfolding politically right now, but if you try, I can promise you a full day of doom-scrolling and despair. It all feels huge and impossible. Flinging one more opinion on abortion, climate change, gun control, religious freedom, the insurrection, LGBTQ+ rights, race relations, andContinue reading “From Gilded to Gold”

Hold On Loosely

This morning as I drove the kids to school, a blade of light cut through a hole in the clouds in that divine way, you know, the way that feels like God is descending through the clouds to rest his glory on your shoulders, and you feel blessed, and particular, the center of the universe.Continue reading “Hold On Loosely”

The Universal History of People Doing Whatever They Feel Like Doing

In those days there was no king in Israel. People did whatever they felt like doing. – Judges 17:6 I’m reading Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic by Sam Quinones right now. At the same time, I’ve been trudging chapter by chapter through the book of Judges in the Bible. The confluence of these two narrativesContinue reading “The Universal History of People Doing Whatever They Feel Like Doing”

The Sound of Snow Falling

Earlier this week as I was standing outside waiting for our new puppy to quit chewing on leaves and sticks and discarded seedpods and pinecones and get down to business (you know, business), the snow began to fall, and it sounded like static electricity, or sand sifting constantly, or a far-off snake rattle, or theContinue reading “The Sound of Snow Falling”

2022 Resolutions: Recover

The last few years, I haven’t made a resolution list like I have previously but instead sought a word from the Lord. My word for 2016 was “clarity,” and much was made clear to me in 2016. By the end of 2016, I changed jobs that eventually brought us back to Ashland. My word forContinue reading “2022 Resolutions: Recover”

Cranial Nerves and the Ongoing Post-COVID Journey

It’s been 21 months since my initial bout with COVID. I’m still not 100% recovered, maybe 80%? It’s hard to recall what “normal” looked like; I sometimes remember charging forth into every day with deep wells of ambition, staying up late into the night writing or working on a project, leading meetings, spending so muchContinue reading “Cranial Nerves and the Ongoing Post-COVID Journey”

American Honey: On Marriage and Memoir

Brandon and I had been married for about three seconds when we decided that we would be awesome at marriage ministry. Because we were clearly awesome at marriage. For those three seconds. Neither of us knew 18 years ago what it meant to be equipped for marriage ministry. To “minister” is to tend to theContinue reading “American Honey: On Marriage and Memoir”

Sifted As Wheat

Sometime around 2005, the “everything happens for a reason,” feel-good faith of my college years shattered. I had had two miscarriages and health complications that accompanied those losses, and to tell you the truth, God did not feel real close, or real good, or real loving. In fact, I didn’t feel anything for God exceptContinue reading “Sifted As Wheat”

Sarah Ruins Jeremiah 29:11

Pete Enns has ruined Exodus, Isaiah, and Christmas, so I thought I’d take a stab at ruining one of the American Christian’s favorite Bible verses, an oft-quoted, stenciled, and memorized Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans toContinue reading “Sarah Ruins Jeremiah 29:11”

The New Self

Good Saturday morning, friends! I took a little break the last couple of weeks from the newsletter while the fam and I were on the road for vacation. Vacation felt different this year for me. In the past, I have run a long marathon at a sprinter’s pace all the way up until the lastContinue reading “The New Self”