Illustrated Essay: Leaving Eden

broken soil & new life

Hi friends,

This illustrated essay was done differently — with canvas and paint and hours of cutting out and gluing paper. It was happy and fulfilling making this for you. (You can read more about my artist awakening here!) I’ve laughed at myself a few times this week at how seriously I take this newsletter, but it’s such a joyful thing to dedicate time to something just for the sake of it, simply out of desire. I’m starting to experience what Julia Cameron calls a “basic principle” of creativity: Creativity is God’s gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God.

This week, I was reminded that my relationship with God is my own. Others may not understand it, or approve of it, but when I pause and center myself, I can feel God’s spirit pulsing inside of me, creating new life out of seeming brokenness.

Nature trusts God so easily — letting things fall apart, die, break, and allowing new life to rush in when the season comes. There’s an uncomfortable waiting to it all, too. Sometimes things take root beneath the surface that we aren’t aware of yet. And when sprouts push through the black soil, life relaxes into that tender newness. Pursuing a relationship with God is a transformative process above all else, and I’m grateful to have left my personal Eden to discover for myself, truly, that brokenness brings life.

May we welcome the broken soil with curiosity and patience,

Something for Sundays is a reader-supported publication about disentangling Mormonism without giving up on God, and exploring spirituality in new ways. Thank you for being here!!! To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. As always — if you’d like to become a paid subscriber but don’t have the means to do so, you can email me at kimberpoon@gmail.com and I will gift you a subscription — no questions asked. <3