08/25/2023
My Story
I was that kid growing up that would ask my parents everything. Questions never stopped. I think sometimes it was endearing, and often times annoying! That curiosity coupled with many life transitions, immigrating from Korea, moving 15+ times, changing careers numerous times (corporate executive-> non-profits -> caregiver-> full-time ministry -> therapist), led me to explore and experience many traditions of Christianity (reformed Protestants, Catholicism, Charismatic mystic types and everything in between), and to volunteer and live in 6 different countries, sometimes hitchhiking with strangers, and pondering life’s meaning. Often times in the midst of these communities, I felt the most supported, understood, and full of purpose. And other times, I felt that certain religious communities didn’t know how to engage with doubts, questions, and uncertainty.
The container for me to explore and better understand God and myself became smaller, instead of expanding and growing with me. The more traditions I became exposed to, and the more cultures that I experienced, questions arose of how much of what I had been taught had been more cultural interpretations, not purely spiritual revelations. Every 5-7 years or so, I find myself going through my own deconstruction of who I thought God was and discerning and reassessing elements of evangelical western American Christian culture.
As a highly sensitive person navigating conflicting church messages, different power dynamics and cultural norms, and a people-pleasing desire to be liked, it was difficult at times to feel safe processing the big big questions of life without feeling judged and feeling the need to conform, as a way of belonging. While I don’t have all the answers, this spiritual journey has led me to a place of greater connection, feeling more grounded and authentic, and has built this deep empathy for others that may be looking for safe places to process their unique experiences.
