Where God's Word Meets Our Mess
A couple years ago, I noticed a trend in the Christian book market. All of a sudden, it felt like there were lots of books about church hurt. I’m thankful I haven’t had any traumatizing experiences at church, but I did begin to wonder if church hurt is more common than I thought. Church hurt definitely is a real thing, and that's why I wrote this post.
I’m not going to sugarcoat it: Being ghosted is hard. The rejection combined with the lack of closure makes it a very unfun experience. It definitely happens on dating apps, but yours truly can attest that (unfortunately) it also happens beyond the dating apps. No matter how you were ghosted, though, I want you to know you can get through it. In last week’s post, I shared two radical truths to help you process the experience and move forward. Here are a few more radical truths you should also keep in mind.
I know James isn’t the right guy for me (or even a good guy in general), but it’s been super hard to get over him and what he’s done to me. Perhaps you, too, have been ghosted and can’t seem to move on. I completely understand your struggle, and I have five hope-filled truths to share with you during this post-ghost season that might surprise you.
Let’s say you meet a guy who professes to follow Jesus. He seems to have some great qualities, so when he asks you out, you say yes. You go out with him a few times, and you enjoy getting to know him. But you notice something about him that isn’t so great, and you wonder if perhaps he’s not as ready to date as you thought he was. Is it one of these five things?
So I ended Part 1 by sharing the first hard lesson I’ve learned from that relationship: Dating isn’t always fun and romantic. Though that lesson may seem very pessimistic, I shared it to ultimately encourage you to have low expectations about your future dating endeavors. I promise I’ll try to encourage you through the hard lessons I share in this post too.
Honestly, the past several weeks have been pretty terrible. The whole James experience has taught me many hard lessons about dating. Hopefully, the ones I share in this post will help you avoid some heartache as you navigate romantic relationships.
Unfortunately, however, I’ll probably never watch The Gorge again—at least, I hope I’ll never watch it again. Frankly, the only positive thing about this movie is the lack of a mustache on Miles Teller’s face. (His facial hair situation in Top Gun: Maverick wasn’t great…to say the least.) But the dull plot, slow pace, and unhelpful message of The Gorge made it very difficult for me to enjoy.
I’m a big fan of Paris—at least the idea of Paris. I’ve never actually been to Paris, but it’s on my bucket list. I own several canvas paintings that depict the Eiffel Tower. I even shared a (mostly positive) post about Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris not long ago. But even though it’s set in Paris, the TV show Emily in Paris is something I’ve purposely avoided—for one unavoidable reason.
I’m going to be honest with you—I still feel like a failure sometimes, even though Real Recovery was published back in 2022. In the past three years, I’ve learned lots of hard lessons about writing, dreaming, and trusting God. One of these lessons has been particularly hard for me to learn, but my hope is that it’ll ultimately encourage you in your endeavors.
Tizzie's Tidbits of Truth 