Cat Pollock Writes

*deep breath* So, I have a confession to make. I've been trying to avoid writing about the Duggar thing. Five million people have written about it (including a few people I know) and some of them have been laying down good words about it without cruising into vitriolic territory. There's a good reason why I'm choosing to not put my own thoughts out there yet. It's pretty simple, actually. Mine aren't yet fully formed, and this is not a debate I want to march into the middle of with half-formed opinions. I just wanted to give some props to the ones who are writing well about what's been going on. Thank you, those writers not spewing venom, wherever your heart is on everything that is coming up and out. I cannot begin to express my gratitude for the ways you are able to communicate your thoughts and feelings - Whether I agree or disagree, they haven't left behind the bitter anger that does nothing more than eat away at my heart. Your ability to...

It’s not something you expect to hear when you sign the dotted line on an application to lead a bible study with the on-campus ministry you’ve been attending for the last two years. The story where a young woman attends your bible study early on in the fall semester, then mostly seems to fall off the face of the earth for the rest of it, and comes back in the spring semester sporadically with bits and pieces of the story. Abusive dating relationship that quickly turns to abusive marriage, with a breaking point of spousal rape. Yeah. That’s not something my co-leaders or I were equipped to handle after our John Hancocks were collected and we were assigned to each other and went through that semi-mandatory leadership training. We went over teaching plans and team building and had a getting to know each other time. But nope. Nothing in the manual about one of your bible study girls going through that. When the topic of leading bible study comes up, I talk a lot about how God use...

I'm writing this from the road. Well, not actually the road. From a little tucked away spot in an airport as I wait for my shuttle so I can actually hit the road and reach my destination. So far, the pictures I've taken have been of my shoes. To be fair, they're really cute shoes, and I'm really picky about what shoes I will buy. I remember the clerk at the store talking about how she'd bought a pair because they were perfect California beach shoes. And how her boyfriend thought she had enough shoes already. We laughed about it as she rang my purchases up that day. They've gotten a high approval rating from a lot of people in my life who make note of such things Plus I like how they're holding up so far. Plus I end up wearing them to work on the days we're interviewing for a new member of my team (and the hilarity of that gives me all kinds of joy). That's probably why they got to come with me on my trip across the country this weekend. S...