Hello, all. I'm Cleave, a writer living in Colorado, though my heart is set on a distant shore with a warm beach. I've been a Christian since I was five years old, but I'm not sure when I sufficiently understood what it means to follow Christ. To quote the movie Amazing Grace, I do know two things very clearly: "I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great Savior."
The church culture I was raised in was not healthy, unfortunately. To make a long story short, I was born with a disability, and developed bipolar disorder as a young boy. Those aspects of my life made me an easy victim for bullies who took advantage of me. I was later diagnosed with PTSD.
As Romans 8 says, though, all things have worked together for my good. Because of the darkness I have endured, I have seen light shine all the greater. I have found great beauty apart from but within that darkness, and it has inspired many of the stories I've written. My personal struggles have left scars (physical and otherwise), but each scar has a story that rightly points to God.
What I cannot do, God has done in me. Though I can't yet set foot in a church building without being overcome by anxiety, God has ministered to me in this wilderness, and I have done well in it. I look forward to the opportunities for community here, and the opportunities to learn and impart what I've learned along my path.
The church culture I was raised in was not healthy, unfortunately. To make a long story short, I was born with a disability, and developed bipolar disorder as a young boy. Those aspects of my life made me an easy victim for bullies who took advantage of me. I was later diagnosed with PTSD.
As Romans 8 says, though, all things have worked together for my good. Because of the darkness I have endured, I have seen light shine all the greater. I have found great beauty apart from but within that darkness, and it has inspired many of the stories I've written. My personal struggles have left scars (physical and otherwise), but each scar has a story that rightly points to God.
What I cannot do, God has done in me. Though I can't yet set foot in a church building without being overcome by anxiety, God has ministered to me in this wilderness, and I have done well in it. I look forward to the opportunities for community here, and the opportunities to learn and impart what I've learned along my path.
