Roots & Hope
Soulful Reflections on Faith, Healing, and Young Adulting
Author: Jess Reed
-
Disappointment has scarred the past few months of my life. It has manifested as constant worry, feelings of inadequacy, chest pains, sleep-deprived nights, sadness, and let me admit, spending far too much time on social media. Recently, I let go of some commitments to focus on my spiritual and mental health. That decision, in itself, was beyond difficult…
-
In May, I spent time reading Unashamed, an autobiography by Lecrae, a rapper whose music has inspired many people. Throughout his book, Lecrae openly reflected on struggles faced along his journey so far. Namely, he’s deeply wrestled with feeling like an outsider, or in his words, an anomaly. As a child, Lecrae didn’t have a relationship with his…
-
“Hope is peace. Hope informs your greatest peace. Hope is triumphant. Hope holds no law. Hope is without doubt the greatest thing with love. Hope is peace. Hope is patient. Hope endures. There is hope in the waters of life that flow from the river of God. Hope rejoices. In hope, there is life.” Almost…
-
You made all the delicate inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous – how well I know it. . .How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered. -Psalm 139:13-14, 17 (Bible, New…
-
I am tired of hiding: inside fear. underneath cotton blankets with finite shelters (“snooze” buttons only soothe for so long). behind dangling dreams hanging from heights, seeming to be unreachable. within the fruitless toiling of comparing my depth, gifts, and flaws to others’ picturesque snapshots. for the sake of familiarity, of hoarding unboxed confidence in rooms…
-
Coldstone is my favorite ice cream shop. Since high school, I’ve devoured the “Love It”, sometimes “Gotta Have It” sized goodness of sweet cream enhanced by strawberries, Oreos, and hot fudge. Since finally getting my driver’s license last summer, I’ve frequented the nearest franchise of ice cream heaven. Two weeks ago, one of my best friends and I caught up on…
-
I have been thinking about concrete. Three weeks ago, this word randomly came to me as words occasionally do, and it has consumed me ever since. Created with earth and brokenness, concrete is a heavy blend of fragmented stones, water, clay, and other particles of matter. In its hardened state, it functions as a sturdy foundation for buildings and a…
-
Last year on Valentine’s Day, I cried during the cross-campus walk to my dorm. I was the co-president of the Black Student Union, and we had just concluded our annual Black Love concert. Our headliner, Luke James, anchored a night of beautiful performances, and we thankfully hosted another successful event. I joined others in cleaning up the venue…
-
“If only…” and “How come?” have, for many years, been pills of choice in my medicine cabinet. Whenever I find myself discouraged, I ache, and I’m tempted to medicate myself with yearnings for unbounded abilities – like longing for infinite wisdom, or another extreme, desperately wanting an alternate life with ignorance of suffering. I have struggled with exhausting energy on…
-
In September 2011, I frantically packed blue suitcases with my start-over items. As I prepared to attend Stanford for the next four years, I gathered objects that I hoped would be fitting for a new journey: the most memorable being my journal and beloved iPod Nano (which, in my opinion, had an untouchable collection of ’90s R&B and…
Roots & Hope 