Jesus’ Parable of the Good Samaritan: The Immigrant Version There was once a man traveling from Port of Entry to Promise, when policy thieves fell upon him.They stripped him of documents, dignity, and legal language, leaving him half-alive; alive enough to work, not alive enough to belong. By chance, a Pastor came down the road.He … More
“Guard your heart with all diligence, for out of it flows the issues of life.” Your life does not flow first from your bank account, your connections, or your talents.It flows from your heart, the inner well where thoughts, wounds, desires, fears, and faith all live together. We are trained to guard many things: Our … More Guard Your Heart.
There is a kind of solitudethat does not ache.A silence that does not accuse you.A room with no voices where your own breath finally sounds like company. To be alone is sometimes just to be undistracted enough to hear yourself arriving. Not the version shaped by noise.Not the mask fitted by expectation.Not the performance rehearsed … More Alone, But Not Lonely
To be African in America is to live in-between.Between continents.Between accents.Between pride and pressure.Between who you were raised to be and who survival here requires you to become. You are not fully here, yet no longer fully there.You carry home in your chest, in your food, your prayers, your proverbs, your respect for elders, your … More Being Betwixted: The Immigrant Ache of Africans in the U.S.
Distraction comes before destruction, that is the subtle tool of the devil. He doesn’t start with chains,he starts with noise.He derails your mind from the Kingdom, pierces you with the sword of anxiety, pulls your thoughts away from prayer and then preys on your vulnerability. He keeps you busy but never fruitful.Occupied yet empty, moving, … More Distraction Comes Before Destruction
I knew of a man who thought waiting was weakness, as if delay meant denial, as if still waters meant God was absent.He wanted the promise, but resisted the pruning.Desired the crown, but questioned the cross. I knew of a man who learned that waiting has a reward, that those who endure are the ones … More The Virtue of Waiting
I knew of a man who walked with empty hands, yet every step sounded heavy.He carried conversationsthat ended years ago,arguments he finally wonin rooms that no longer existed. I knew of a man who packed his childhood into adulthoodand called it wisdom, never realizing he was dragging fear into places it had never been invited.He … More The Things We Carry
I knew of a man who lost his sense of wonder not because life stopped being beautiful, but because he stopped looking at it long enough to see it. Over-familiarization is a quiet thief.It does not announce itself as loss.It introduces itself as comfort. When something becomes familiar,we stop approaching it with reverence.We stop listening … More The Danger of Over-Familiarization
Have you had a bad experience that taught you a conclusion instead of a lesson? Did a single momentbecome a lifetime rule? One person betrayed you; so now everyone is untrustworthy.One failure broke you;so now you believe you’re incapable.One closed door disappointed you; so now you call every opportunity a trap. But what does that … More The Delusion of Overgeneralization
Today I want to share a moment that felt lighthearted at first, but left me with a question I couldn’t shake. I dressed up as Santa at my church, and the moment “Santa” entered the room, everything changed. The atmosphere lit up. Children began shouting, “Santa! Santa!” They rushed toward me, reaching out for hugs, … More Me As Santa: The Power of a Mask
