My mind has always been one of my safest spaces.
When my surroundings have been unfamiliar or difficult, I retreat into my own thoughts. My imagination was a coping companion as I was growing up, and I’ve never completely given it up.
Ministry has allowed me to continue to nurture my own life of the mind, as has writing and other creative endeavors.
I have ways of moving my body, but I often find it difficult to truly inhabit my own physical space. There were many occasions when my environment told me to be small, and so I obliged while the world of my mind could be as big as I wanted.
In 43 years of life, I’ve only recently been learning how to be fully my physical self. But it’s still a work in progress.
The journey back home is a long and continual one that I’m not always thankful for. But I’m glad for those accompanying me on the path.
Jeffrey A. Nelson 