A wooden plaque says: YOU CAN'T MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY YOU'RE NOT PIZZA" which is a perfect metaphor for doing allyship.
A wooden plaque says: YOU CAN'T MAKE EVERYONE HAPPY YOU'RE NOT PIZZA" which is a perfect metaphor for doing allyship.

“You can’t make everyone happy; you’re not pizza.”

I saw these words on a plaque a couple of months ago and I knew I had to have it. As a lifelong people-pleaser, I have spent the past several years learning that it’s simply impossible to please everyone. Add to that the fact that I love pizza. It became imperative that I see these words as a reminder Every. Single. Day.

My calling leads me to the center of discomfort on a daily basis. Enough outside my comfort zone where growth can happen, but not so far out that I require a blanket fort to cope. In this messy, awkward, super uncomfortable middle is where I’ve discovered that magic happens! It’s where I try to get others to join me in seeing the world in a new way. However, no matter how I try to engage people, I get judged by people standing outside of my arena who tell me I’m doing it wrong. I can be kind and empathetic or hurt and pleading. I can be angry (though rarely). No matter how I engage, someone always sees me as confrontational. Someone always perceives me as pushing away people who see things differently than I do. So what is left? Silence? I refuse.

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Several months ago I realized I’d stopped hearing God. I’d gotten so deep into the busy work of my calling that I just didn’t notice the absence until the silence became deafening. I began to occasionally pray for some sort of indication that I wasn’t alone and that I was still on the right path, but things were going fairly smoothly, so I wasn’t too concerned. Weeks passed and still, radio silence.

In the meantime, awful things happened. The Pulse massacre. The shootings of Philando Castille and Alton Sterling. I was strong for friends until there was nothing left. I felt tapped out, emptied, and still God was nowhere to be found. Read More →