Heather Cofer

Alex Clark has some good ideas and I've enjoyed listening to her podcast in the past, but I don't think it's wise for her to have a prominent role at TPUSA's Women's Leadership Conference considering that she's still unmarried at age 33. I'd much rather see a woman up on the stage who has embraced marriage and motherhood, like Rachel Wilson or Gina Bontempo. It makes no sense to me that a woman like Alex is still single if she truly holds conservative Christian values. What could be stopping her from finding a husband after all these years? She's famous for her conservative views, and there are so many great guys who would love to marry an attractive conservative Christian woman.

I was just having a conversation about one of the sad but oft-overlooked effects of feminism on single women who desire to get married (I bring this up, because I’ve seen others share about Alex’s openly expressed desire to be married and have a family). On one side, people often assume these women have embraced feminist ideas when they aren’t married, which is painful. OR they downplay their sorrow over not being married and the possibility that they may not become moms one day, because they’re viewed as having the ultimate free life. Either way, it can add significant insult to injury to those who desire a marriage and family. I’ve talked with some single women about the fact that facing the possibility of never being married and having children is comparable to infertility. Not the same, but similar because they’re grappling with the same outcomes. As believers we need to be sure we’re not painting all single women with a broad brush, and offering compassion and encouragement and support to those seeking to be faithful even while their hearts long for marriage and family.

Feel bad for this guy. Every time there’s a new study about young people & religion he has to go sit in a dark sanctuary.

Why do I call it the nostalgia tree? Here’s something I wrote a few years ago about it: Nostalgia is a funny thing, isn’t it? This same kind of tree grew outside our apartment building in Mongolia. In a city that had so little green, it’s fragrant blossoms brought much delight as the harsh winter (and dust storm-filled spring) came to an end. Now without fail, the smell of these blossoms takes me back to childhood days, and that ache of nostalgia fills me as I remember those treasured years. But the older I’ve gotten, the more I’m convinced that nostalgia doesn’t point as much to how idyllic the past was as it does to the perfection of something that’s to come. Nostalgia brings to mind all the sweetness of one point in history and dulls the hard that was equally present. If we were to be transported back to that exact moment, it would be real in every sense of the word and all the mystique of the nostalgia would fade. As my husband likes to say, “there’s really no such thing as ‘the good ol’ days.’” In his book ‘Mere Christianity’ C.S. Lewis says, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical conclusion is that I was made for another world.” When that overwhelming ache fills me at the scent of these blooms, I know my soul is resonating with the reality of eternity for those who follow Christ—a perfect place in the presence of our perfect Savior. The beauty of this earth is a shadow of the pure joy that is yet to come in a new Kingdom untainted by sin and death. For those who don’t know Jesus, the fleeting beauty shadows of this earth are the height of what they will ever experience. But for those who place their trust in Him, the best is yet to come. (A pic of the tree in full bloom)

The nostalgia tree is blooming. I could stand here and drink in the scent forever.