by Brenda L. Yoder | Feb 10, 2022 | Life
“Mrs. Yoder, you have tears in your eyes,” my 4th grade students said. “Yes, they are happy tears,” I said. “You guys made my heart happy” and I made a little symbol with my hands over my heart. “You...
by Brenda L. Yoder | Jan 3, 2022 | For Women
A young mom, I laid sobbing on our couch in our basement. It was my reaction to a comment I received that day which validated feelings of unworthiness and unacceptability. I laid there, loathing myself. It triggered feelings I had as a teenager with an eating disorder...
by Brenda L. Yoder | Dec 3, 2021 | For Women
Community means different things to me. I live in the community in which I was raised, one where everyone knows your name. There’s safety and familiarity in knowing those around you, in others knowing where you’ve been and to whom you belong. I experienced community...
by Brenda L. Yoder | Nov 19, 2021 | Life
I’m afraid, she said. I’m anxious something will go wrong. Will you pray with me? Though I knew Moriah’s fears were unlikely to be realized, I hesitated to persuade her otherwise. What she needed in the moment wasn’t a “you’ll be...
by Brenda L. Yoder | Oct 6, 2021 | Faith
I was on my hands and knees scrubbing her floor. I had just finished washing dishes that had been piled up for days. The placed reeked as a I moved dishes around so I could clean the sink in order to get the job done. “This isn’t what they taught in grad...
