"Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness..." --Genesis 1:26

I was wondering-wandering through the spaces of lesser pains and worse pains of the lent, that makes it more than a linear moving-across from the ‘God’ to the ‘Godless’ and/or from “Godless” to “God”. I/i continue to see and unsee Godless in the Godly and vice-versa as beauty must always be preceded by ugliness, which makes ugliness a prerequisite of beauty. Beauty is ugly in another key.

God, bring grace and justice to usGod, bring grace and justice to usChrist, hear usChrist, graciously hear us

My old religion professor taught me that sacred spaces are, at their most basic, defined by barriers and taboo. The ordinary things of the world cannot enter them. We speak of them rarely and reverently. Access is limited.

I usually observe Lent by reflecting on my own shortcomings while abstaining from something that I determine to be unproductive or distracting (e.g. sugar, screen time). In recent years, I’ve added a Scripture reading schedule in the hope my reflection and diligence on the text would bring me closer to God’s will for us through the death and life of Jesus. My observation of Lent is a hopeful attempt to move away from the reality of my sin and mortality (the “Profane”) and draw closer to redemption and life (the “Sacred”).

体 or Karada in Japanese translates to body.

Schoolteacher life. It’s nothing like the movies or the many myths that seem to persist about public education. I never wanted to be a shiny white savior like Michelle Pfeiffer, and that option isn’t available to Asian American me, anyway. The complexities that students and their families bring into school spaces are never solved in the 99 minutes it takes to watch Dangerous Minds. You definitely should expect more tears, sarcasm, yelling, eyerolls, bored glares, than hugs and applause.

How did I end up here? And where is Here?

For myself, Here is Kansas City. Here is being a graduate student in my mid-30s. Here is being a mom of two kids. Here is identifying as bisexual and having this identity erased because I am married to a man. Here is often being the only Asian American in any given room because of that other Here: the Midwest. Here is recognizing that I no longer fit neatly into any particular label of “Christian,” and wondering, why do I stay?