Write with Author NJ Miller

We all have challenges of one kind or another in our lives. Some challenges are obvious and easy to talk about. Most people can relate to the frustration of your car not starting, unless you don’t have a car or don’t drive, then it is a conversation stopper. Challenges that are not obvious or are out of the ordinary are harder for people to understand therefore harder for people with those challenges to share. I recently read the book, Hello Stranger, by Katherine Center. Her main character, Sadie suffers from prosopagnosia, also known as Face Blindness as a result of brain surgery following a head injury. In the story, there are humorous consequences from Sadie hiding her Face Blindness. You might wonder why she wouldn’t just tell everyone about her condition, but it is not uncommon for a person with a hidden challenge to feel less than or like they don’t fit in.  When I was growing up in a family with bilateral congenital cataracts that can cause a prosopagnosia-like deficit maki...

  I have faith when...      My faith is not required for seeing and hearing all that is around me. I don’t need faith in something beyond myself when I feel like I am enough and have all that I need and more. I find myself at the grocery store check-out counter and the friendly person at the register asks, “Did you find everything?” My response is to say, “everything and more.” I feel satisfied when I have everything and more than I want or need.   I pray to my God. I worship and praise my creator. But I experience my faith when my conveniences are stripped away, and I feel uncertain about my life.   It's interesting that God never promised certainty. In fact, certainty is a myth that feels comforting. When I  can check jobs off my to do list, I can feel satisfied with my day. But when a crisis arises or an unexpected serendipity brings joy, then my list takes a backseat in my planner.    I didn’t have love in my planner, but it came up ...

My life feels like ... I am praying my way through a maze. I choose a direction, walk for a while,     then come to a wall. I choose a different direction that works well until it doesn’t. I find another way. God calls me to be patient, resilient, and resourceful.   I think about the Israelites coming face to face with a wall of water in front of them and the Egyptian army behind. They felt afraid and lost hope, but God through Moses, led them through the Red Sea to the path He set for them. They expected God to provide an easy road. Instead, they found a maze that tested their faith while God showed His great power to the nations around them.    A maze with its high walls and mysterious openings instills in me a prayerful heart that leads me to the path God has for me. When it feels like God has left me trapped with nowhere to go, I lift up my eyes and see the light and an unexpected direction.    My path is not all about me when I allow God to lead t...

My life is an adventure full of joys, plans, unmet expectations, and loss. After experiencing the many mistakes of my teen years, I chose a path that seemed safe and secure. I watered, nurtured, and trimmed the weeds along my way. I enjoyed some fun adventures on the water that kept me nourished and energized along my journey. I limped a little, but I pushed on ignoring the energy I was losing as I walked the rocky path. I thought I was okay until I recognized the trickster in my path.     The shock of seeing, for the first time, my past and present in light of the trickster’s affinity for deception brought disruption to my normal (as it seemed) life. The trickster’s cunning deception brought darkness and loss into the map of my life. The exhilarating family trips to the ocean and then kayaking on the river became a dim crumpled mess on my map. The joys of my past sank deep into darkness.    When divorce hit like a quake that rocked my world, I realized I can’t nurtu...