Elizabeth Torsell Articles

I am reminded of how a relationship with another person forces you to face yourself – dating and marriage, particularly. What is revealed isn’t always pretty. And here, once again, a person is shaking me out of my complacency, shattering my illusions about who I am and how this is all supposed to work. My baby is here, inside me, growing and changing and inviting me to change and grow.

“Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows.” By clinging to our own wills in opposition to God’s, we drive the dagger deeper, introducing the poison of selfishness into our emotional wound where it can fester and do greater damage. In contrast, ​fiat​ allows God’s grace to fill the wound, healing, strengthening, and restoring peace in the midst of suffering.

When I was about 18, I worked part-time as a mother’s helper. One day, I remember standing over a bed covered with clean-ish (musty) laundry and thinking, “why bother folding it?” It seemed like such a waste of time; there were more heaps waiting in the hall, and if I...