A Spiritual Formation Story
The journey from inherited faith to intentional calling
The Foundation · Early Childhood
Raised in the Church House
Sunday mornings filled with gospel music. Red hymnals. Vacation Bible School summers. The quiet, steady witness of Black Baptist women whose faith anchored generations.
"Train up a child in the way she should go…"
My earliest understanding of God came wrapped in the rhythms of Black religious life — not theology, but presence. The smell of communion wine, the swell of a choir, the women who prayed without ceasing. It was inherited, yes. But it was also real.
The Foundation
The Distinction
The Distinction · Young Adulthood
Religion vs. Formation
Immersed in church culture, yet something stirred — a recognition that what had been inherited was not yet owned. The difference between performing faith and forming it.
"Deep calls to deep…"
The motions were familiar but something felt hollow. I could navigate every pew, every church calendar, every expectation — and still feel like I was performing a role I hadn't actually chosen. That dissonance was the beginning of something honest.
The Wilderness · Adulthood
Seasons of Questioning
Spiritual questioning. Exploration of other traditions and philosophies. Honest wandering through doubt — not as departure, but as the beginning of authentic search.
"Where can I go from your Spirit?"
I didn't leave because I stopped believing — I left because I needed to know what I actually believed. The wilderness wasn't abandonment. It was the most honest thing I had done with God in years.
The Wilderness
The Return
The Return · Intentional Faith
Not Performance — Pursuit
A deliberate return to Christianity — not through obligation but through renewed pursuit of discipleship, theological depth, and authentic relationship with God. Everything shifted.
"I will give you a new heart…"
Coming back was not a retreat. It was an arrival at something I had never quite touched before — faith chosen, not inherited. Discipleship that cost me something. That transformation fundamentally reshaped both my personal life and my intellectual calling.
The Calling · Ministry & Scholarship
The Imago Initiative
Personal transformation became ministry. A developing theological formation project for girls and young women — at the intersection of faith, identity, healing, and creative practice.
"What you believe about God shapes what you believe about yourself."
I kept meeting young women who were spiritually displaced — who had inherited broken images of themselves, and broken images of God. The Imago Initiative exists because what we believe about our Creator shapes everything. Formation is the work.
The Calling
The Threshold
The Threshold · Fall 2026
Howard University School of Divinity
Accepted to pursue the Master of Divinity — researching Black Christianity, womanist theological inquiry, discipleship, and faith formation among spiritually displaced communities.
"She is clothed with strength and dignity…"
Seminary is not the end — it is the beginning of a more accountable, more rigorous pursuit. I approach theological study not as someone who has arrived, but as someone who has finally found the right questions to carry into a lifetime of formation.
Present day
LET THERE BE LIGHT
Let's stay in conversation.
Whether you're a fellow student, scholar, pastor, or someone building formation work for Black women and girls — I'd love to hear from you. There are a few ways to keep in touch.