nz
How to parent in public

How to parent in public

Cucumber, lettuce, tomato... with effortless repetition the teenage boy at the checkout scans my groceries, the bleep bleep punctuating the bustling of a busy supermarket. Suddenly the tantruming wails of a small child echo loudly from the next checkout, and pained cries drown out the bleep bleeps and rustling of plastic bags. The checkout boy and I look over to a flustered mother attempting to calm her child..

  • Removing the labels

    I grew up with a black and white Christianity. A "this is right—and that is wrong" approach to the world. For instance, alcohol and homosexuality were bad, attending church good and praying daily even better.

  • Jet planes

    I grew up in a place called Beachlands, Auckland, New Zealand. This was an amazing place by the way, and I feel it should at least be the capital of New Zealand! I went to a youth group put on by the local church, and after a time, I helped run it with some other cool people. This was about eight years ago and it was a great time of my life. I was in my early twenties and all I had were hopes and dreams.

  • Feeling run over by sin and separation

    On a quiet Saturday morning in Auckland, a lady in a large SUV sped down the road wanting to turn onto a deserted side road. I happened to be crossing it on foot. In fact, I was nearly halfway, but rather than coasting for half a second longer, she decided to turn sharply and honk loudly—one of those extra-long honks screaming, "MOOOOOOOVE!"

  • Grateful for life's busyness

    I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw the Young Writers' email saying this month's article was the last for 2016."Thank God," I thought.

  • It's not me, it's me: a break up letter to my reflection

    Dear Reflection, on the surface we have so much in common, but lately it's hit me that it's only superficial things. We don't have anything to talk about except for what I'm wearing or what my hair is doing.

  • My journey into Christianity

    I was watching The Project this week and they were talking about the history making event that was the meeting of Donald Trump, American President and Kim Jong Un, North Korean leader, who is probably one of the most feared men on the planet because of his access to nuclear weaponry.