Selected excerpts of my creative writing with links to their publisher follow.

A Failed Consecration

Baptist Christianity teaches that one’s relationship with God is wholly individual. Church attendance and Christian fellowship are highly encouraged, but what really determines one’s faith is their personal relationship with our Almighty Lord. God speaks to you. Sometimes He sends messages when you pray. Sometimes He comes during the middle of the night. His appearance or lack thereof are unpredictable, but it is believed that He will come to you. I certainly felt that He had shown Himself to me that night.

God does not speak as much as He urges. I knelt on the ground, resting my head on the seat of the chair in front of me. Separated from other individuals who were no doubt doing the same, imbued with the colorful atmosphere, my meditative state made room in my heart for God’s urging. He never said, “You are to be a preacher,” but the trembling of my nerves and turning of my organs inside my body left no room for confusion. I knew His will.

I went to one of the ministers overseeing the affair. Between my eyes and nose gushing their respective liquids, he was able to make out the good news. I was now a vessel for the word of God.

The full piece can be read at literary journal Aurora’s website.