Heather Isaacs

My initials spell "Hi."

Hi.

Seventh-day Adventist

  • The Day After

    In September of 2001, I started my graduate studies at a liberal Presbyterian seminary in Northern California. I was a 24 year-old Seventh-Day Adventist woman looking for a place to pursue a theological education beyond the conservative boundaries of my home denomination which did not recognize women’s ordination. But surprisingly, I soon found myself becoming… Read more

  • The Orant

    TW: grief, death, pediatric trauma. I once arrived to a pediatric ED where, again, the worst had happened. Resuscitation efforts on the baby had just ended. The social worker met me at the threshold and said they needed to excuse themselves; they could not stay in the room because of the nature of the trauma… Read more

  • Ash Wednesday

    Six years ago, on an Ash Wednesday, the day in the Christian liturgical calendar that marks the beginning of Lent, otherwise known as the 40 days prior to Easter, my family received its own kind of ashes in the news the doctor gave my Dad. “Vascular dementia.” This is the diagnosis my Dad received that… Read more

  • The Missionary Position, Part 2

    For Part 1: https://oddbygod.wordpress.com/2013/10/05/the-missionary-position-part-i When you are thrown into a chasm of despair, I believe in holding on to whatever you need to make it through to the other side. Sometimes rescuing ourselves out of the pit involves a lot of clawing at rock surfaces, blindly feeling for the slightest edge that will bear our… Read more

  • The Missionary Position, Part 1

    The year between my sophomore and junior years of college, I worked as a student missionary. With my good friend Charity, we committed nine months to teaching English at a church-affiliated school in the city of Prague. As far as missionary positions go, ours was an easy job. Teach English during the week. Build relationships… Read more

  • My Genius Hate Notes

    At 36, I am happier with myself than I’ve ever been. More than any time in my life, I take joy in simply being me. But this week has been a harsh reminder that I still have a healthy dose of self-hatred running through my veins. I’ve hated myself for much of my life. This… Read more

  • The Club of Holy Book Destroyers

    A few years ago, an obscure pastor in Florida held a sacred book in one hand and the promise of a lighter in another, threatening, in effect, to throw an ideological grenade into a crowded room and take the viewing world hostage in an unprecedented display of evangelistic theatrics and foreign policy nightmare. I raised… Read more

  • It would be a sin to miss the dance. (Or drink a box of wine.)

    Last night, I went swing dancing for the first time in years. As I awkwardly began to remember the steps, it felt like my body sprang free from its pen like a gangly, restless colt. Giddy within minutes, I asked myself, “How did I ever give this up? How could I forget how much I… Read more