New August Series: Back to Blogging

Those of you who have been here for awhile know that this site originally started as a “caring-bridge” page for our daughter. I would update friends and family on her cancer journey, share prayer requests, and talk about how we were clinging to Jesus in the middle of suffering. As I heard stories from you – about how you were using my updates to share the gospel with your neighbors – I began to pray about writing in a place that would be more accessible to those who don’t know me in real life. And eventually I started this website.

For the last few years it has mainly focused on encouraging you with the hope of the gospel as we both walk through trials. I joined a writing group and was nudged by many people to pitch articles, go on podcasts, and eventually to write the book that so many of you have now read and worked through.

It has been a whirlwind couple of years as I’ve leapt head first into calling myself a “writer” and treating this place as a ministry and at times like a well-loved job.

But things change, and I’m finding myself in a new season. I’m not giving up writing! I just am walking through different trials where I don’t feel like I have a whole lot of answers to offer you as a way of encouragement. As much as I’ve enjoyed writing “article” style pieces, I simply don’t have 3-tips or 5-ways to bullet point for you.

Hopefully you’re reading this and thinking, “I don’t expect that from you anyway!” But I have come, unreasonably, to expect that of myself. So when I sit down to write for you and don’t feel like I have much concrete advice… I’ve been walking away from my computer and not sharing anything at all.

Here’s the thing: I know I can walk away from writing. No one is forcing me to show up here. But part of why I’m feeling so overwhelmed, exhausted, and discouraged in my current season, is because everywhere I turn for encouragement is full of bullet points, how-tos, and “if you… then this” advice.

And y’all… sometimes life is too complicated for all of that.

In a recent podcast I was asked why I wrote “Who Cares for You?” and I described the book as a wrestling mat for people in the trenches of caregiving who need space and permission to ask God all the hard questions. Most of the resources I was given during our daughter’s cancer journey offered neat and tidy messages that took my suffering and tied it up with a pretty bow. But what we were walking through was way more complex than that. I needed to open God’s Word, ask God all my questions, tell him all my feelings, and let him do his slow work of sanctification in me.

Well, in my current season of parenting kids with new emotional and mental health diagnoses… living in a home that often feels volatile, exhausting, and confusing… having way more questions than answers, and not knowing what I’m doing over here…

I need another wrestling mat.

And the reason I’ve chosen not to completely abandon writing… is because I have a hunch that you need a wrestling mat too. I’ve stepped way back from social media, because all the “advice” on there has left me drained, discouraged, and confused. As much as I try to limit my time there to simply sharing with you – I inevitably get sucked down a rabbit hole where everyone has tied up their difficult parenting experiences with a pretty filter, a sweet hashtag, and a proverbial bow.

I need to press into my real life friends and mentors. I need to be honest with our local church about how difficult Sundays have become. I need to ask God for wisdom instead of strangers online. And I want to, in some way, model this for you – so you can feel the freedom to do these things as well.

So, I’m giving myself permission to write a little differently this month. You won’t find me on social media. You won’t find my name on any articles at big publications. Instead I’m going to be old-school blogging the way the cool kids did back in 2009.

I’m making no promises about how often I’ll post, or what I’ll write about. It’ll probably be a little about what I’m learning, what I’m hoping, what I’m clinging to, and what is bringing me joy. If you are a subscriber – then you’ve already seen in my latest newsletter that I’ve paused the automatic sharing of these blog posts via email. I don’t want to spam anyone with an unexpected uptick in posts, so instead you are welcome to check here whenever you want, or follow my writer page on FB (where they are automatically shared, but I won’t be engaging), or wait until next month’s newsletter where I’ll link to a few of the posts for you.

Tell me – where are you at right now? Are you in need of a wrestling mat where you and God can hash it out? Are you on the other side of a season of suffering and ready to share encouragement with someone else in your life? I’d love to hear from you: marissa@marissabondurant.com

Thanks for being here, for reading, and for letting me serve you as we walk with God through our trials.

Love, marissa