Essays from the in-between

Seeking First, Again
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Seeking First, Again

Lately, I've been thinking about how much my context has changed. A decade ago, I was deeply religious. And in those spaces, you’re often taught to deny yourself. That phrase can mean many things, but in Western evangelical Christianity, it usually translates to denying your desi…

Ashley LeonJuly 9, 2026
Missing What Never Was
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Missing What Never Was

I think it’s okay to miss something and not want it back. In my previous relationship, my partner and I almost had a baby together. We had a miscarriage. And years later, I guess I’m still working through it. There are days I go back to the imagination I had of what my baby was g…

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Deconstruction and Beyond: A Story of Loss and Rebirth
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Deconstruction and Beyond: A Story of Loss and Rebirth

Life After Deconstruction: Where Do We Go Next? Lately I’ve been thinking about the reality of life after deconstruction. So what do I mean by deconstruction? It’s the process of unlearning and relearning. Of questioning what you’ve been indoctrinated with, what you grew up with.…

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What Does Belonging Really Mean?
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What Does Belonging Really Mean?

What Does Belonging Really Mean? Book club the other night. We were talking about Brené Brown’s The Gifts of Imperfection. Shame. Perfectionism. The loops we get stuck in. And then— belonging. A prompt was given regarding belonging. And before I knew it, the words came out of my…

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The God who doesn’t play by our rules
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The God who doesn’t play by our rules

What Kind of God Do You Believe In? This morning I woke up thinking about something an old mentor, someone who felt more like a spiritual mother once told me. It was during a deeply sensitive season of my life: the first time I came out of the closet. At the time, I was part of a…

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