A little background for any new readers and a reminder for old readers: I had a series of week retrospectives on this blog, an idea that was inspired by a Bible study ice breaker back from my campus ministry days. In these posts, I go over how I felt God was working in my life that week (How), a high from the week (Wow), a low (Pow), and a food item that I had from the week that I felt would be noteworthy. And so here begins the resurrection of yet another series on this blog.

How has God been working in your life this week?

It has become glaringly obvious this past week that God has been putting grace on my heart this week – both a reminder of His unwavering grace for me, as well as a reminder to have grace on others and myself. I briefly mentioned in my post a few days ago that I’ve been undergoing a great deal of healing recently. Part of that healing has to do with reconciling past trauma that I experienced in my childhood, and extending grace on those that inflicted that pain that I’ve carried into my adult life. A lot of unlearning needs to happen, and I know it’s going to be hard, but such is the healing process – a process that I’m eager to go through

What is something great that happened this week?

A few good things have happened this week, the first being that we started application reading at work – one of my favorite things about my job. Though arduous and tedious at times, I most look forward to reading the essays that come across my desk. Each year, I’m reminded of how reflective and thoughtful this generation’s students are, and the creative ways they find to put their personal reflections on the page. It often feels like I’m sitting across from them at a coffee shop while they pour their heart out to me. Another bright spot of my week was, as cliche as this is going to sound, going to church this morning. My attendance at my church is usually pretty sparse during the Fall and going into the holidays, and so getting to see and catch up with my church family always feels like a reawakening for my soul. Finding community as an adult is hard, and so my church and the friends that I’ve made there are a huge blessing to me.

What is something that happened this week that wasn’t so great?

As I’ve mentioned ad nauseam, I’m currently in a season of my life where I’m reconciling with past trauma. Being confronted with these traumas and reliving certain situations has hurt a great deal. But as I’ve been reminded of grace this week, I can see God’s grace by the way he has allowed me confront these things. I’ve been noticing certain unhealthy patterns in my actions and in my thoughts lately, patterns that could lead me down a dark path if I don’t try to catch myself and ask why I react to certain things the way that I do (cue Anti-Hero by Taylor Swift). God’s grace has come in by offering me a way out through discovering the root of my issues. Though reopening these wounds hurts a lot, I know that it’s for my own good, and that I’ll really be able to begin to fully heal.

Any notable food you had this week?

One of the things that I look forward to most during the colder months is getting to make soups. All kinds of soups. I have a draft in my email with a bunch of soup and crockpot recipes that I save for the Fall and Winter, and this past week, I opened that folder and kicked off soup-making season. Earlier last week, I made a broccoli and cheddar soup. This weekend I made a creamy chicken and wild rice soup.