My Slice of Pie

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I grew up in the rolling hills of southeastern Ohio. My twin brother and I are the oldest of four children; we have two younger sisters. We learned a lot about life through gardening, playing in the dirt, breeding and raising are own Cocker Spaniels and then puppy raising dogs for Pilot Dogs, Inc. located in Columbus, Ohio. We attended private Christian schools kindergarten through high school. I was privileged to attend a one-room schoolhouse kindergarten through sixth grade, at which point a new building was built to house the growing enrollment. Life was slow and rich and resilient in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains.

I call Ohio Yearly Meeting (Conservative), a Quaker community (also known as the Religious Society of Friends) my spiritual home. Although this particular view of following Christ has heavily shaped me, I came across a quote during the summer of 2018, that describes my experiences with other churches. “I told him it was like we all grow up with half a pie, and part of being an adult person of faith is finding the rest of your pie.” - Shauna Niequist, Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living It is my hope that I can share with you some about the half of the pie that I grew up with - stillness, quietness -yes- even silence, listening, hearing God’s voice speaking directly to you, grounding, and centering. I will also share my experiences of finding the other half of the pie that most of you probably know very well - music, sermons, physical reminders of the faith, missions, and serving. The most important thing though, is taking a bit from the slice of pie presented to us in the moment by knowing God’s voice, hearing Him, and being obedient to Him. We must truly abide in Him if we want to live the abundant life He offers us - the whole pie.

Will you join me on this journey? What half of the pie do you have? What part do you need some more of?