Photo by vtdainfo
By Dorcas Cheng-Tozun
The first time my husband and I lived overseas, we made one crucial mistake: we did not want to ask others for help.
When we were desperate, we would send out an email to a few close friends, like lighting a flare just as our ship was sinking. But we did not ask for any sustained form of support — emotional, spiritual, or otherwise. Continue Reading »
Posted in reflections | Tagged abundance, asking for help, generosity, giving and receiving | Leave a Comment »
Photo by Moyan Brenn
By Vivian Mabuni
I got up earlier than normal one morning to fix lunch for my eleven year old, Michael. He looked at me and said, “Mom, you don’t need to make me lunches the next few days. I’m going to fast for you because I think it might help you during this round of chemo.”
“Really, are you sure, Buddy? I thought they were serving pizza this week.”
“Yeah, they are. But this is more important.”
Michael chose to fast for me during the week he would be helping out in the school lunch line. Helping in the lunch line was a privilege reserved only for sixth graders. Helpers enjoyed access to pizza. Not cafeteria pizza, but real pizza delivered by an actual pizza chain. Pizza rated near the top as one of Michael’s favorite foods. Continue Reading »
Posted in reflections | Tagged grace, illness, receiving | Leave a Comment »
Photo by Simon Matzinger
By Jerrica KF Ching
I believe that some of my fellow AAWOL sisters will agree that giving comes as second nature, while taking is quite a challenge. As Joy Wong pointed out in her most recent entry, the idea of taking brings upon shame, guilt, and doubt. What right do we have to take? Giving is meant to be selfless, so therefore how do we find the balance of channeling our gifts of leadership by giving and the need to compromise and rest by taking? Continue Reading »
Posted in reflections | Tagged rest, self-care | Leave a Comment »
Photo by steve p2008
By Melanie Mar Chow
One of the best books I’ve read about leadership is the 2013 bestseller and Oprah Winfrey book club recommendation, Give and Take by Adam Grant, a professor at the Wharton School of Business.
The book’s premise is that despite the perception that giving is costly, the counterintuitive reality is that being able to give in relationships to assist others will, in fact, benefit leadership. Continue Reading »
Posted in reflections | Tagged generosity, giving | Leave a Comment »
Photo by Joel Olives
By Joy Wong
In terms of “give-and-take” in relationships, this time in my life — as a full-time mom of two kids ages 3 and 1 — has definitely been a season of taking. Taking sounds easy, but for me, it’s not. I like to be the giver, the contributor, the leader — using my gifts and talents for the benefit of others. (Some may argue that I am, in fact, giving to my kids. This is true, but I am speaking in terms of my relationship with the church.) Continue Reading »
Posted in reflections | Tagged self-worth, shame | Leave a Comment »
Photo by Thomas Maluck
By Margaret Yu (originally written for International Womens’ Day, March 2014)
I don’t have many solid memories of myself as a child. However, the ones I do have are well-planted in my mind.
One memory I have is that of standing before my mirror. I was 7 years old and was preparing my look and outfit for a family photo. Continue Reading »
Posted in reflections | Tagged finding one's voice, minority, parental approval, people-pleasing | 1 Comment »
Photo by Ramon Bacas
By Eun Joo Angela Ryo
I love to walk. I’m not a runner, but I’ve always considered walking to be a meaningful spiritual practice. However, when an opportunity to go on a Camino to Santiago de Compostelo by the Portuguese Way was offered to me, I hesitated. It would be with fifteen church ladies I didn’t know very well for two full weeks. We would start in Ponte de Lima, Portugal and walk about nine to thirteen miles a day for nine days to Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain. We would be walking a total of about a hundred miles in two weeks. Continue Reading »
Posted in reflections | Tagged comfort zone, fear, pilgrimage | Leave a Comment »
By Sarah D. Park
In downtown San Francisco, I found myself standing in the middle of what should have been a busy street intersection. But my body — and the bodies of several other hundred people — was in the way. Some protestors unapologetically sat down to hold the space; others stood standing, holding up their signs and banners high against the honking cars demanding access. “Water is life.” “Stop the North Dakota pipeline.” “You can’t drink gas.”
I had read articles and seen photos of the growing Native Peoples encampment in North Dakota. Continue Reading »
Posted in reflections | Tagged activism, apathy, social justice | Leave a Comment »
Photo by Maria Liu Wong
By Maria Liu Wong
Last Sunday, on the way to church, my 4-year-old daughter, Immy, and I stopped by a bodega by the subway station. An older African-American woman standing by the door saw Immy and said, “She’s gorgeous! You’d better lock her up when she turns 16!” I smiled in response and said she’d be taking self-defense lessons, starting early. We bantered on a bit more, and then I headed downstairs to the subway with Immy.
As we rode the subway to church, I thought about the conversation and the woman’s advice to protect and hide my daughter away because of what she looks like. Continue Reading »
Posted in reflections | Tagged appearance, daughters, fear, motherhood, trust | Leave a Comment »
By Pedro Fernandes
By Wendy Choy-Chan
The trees outside my window are changing colors. My daughter is happily taking the sweaters out of her closet, while I am dreading about having less daylight and more rain. As each season approaches, we make adjustments. Sometimes, just when we have settled in with the changes, another season comes. Sometimes, on the other hand, we get tired of the same old season, and we gladly welcome the next. Continue Reading »
Posted in reflections | Tagged career vs. family, parenthood, seasons of life | Leave a Comment »
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