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A New Hello
Shalom… and welcome. It has been over 100 posts since I welcomed people so I wanted to jump back. Not just to words on a page, but to something I believe the Lord Himself has breathed into existence. Before anything else is said, let this be clear—this space, these words, this story… none of it belongs to me. Every ounce of it is the Lord’s. Every piece of healing, every moment of endurance, every breath that carried me here is a testimony of His mercy, not my strength. For y
Kelsay Parrott
Mar 174 min read
Halloween, Trauma Scars, and Stories we Wear
What happens when someone's Halloween costume looks like your everyday reality? "Your special effects makeup is amazing!" I looked at the teenager standing in front of me, smiled, and thought for a moment. Special effects makeup? Nope. This is actually how I look. I was sitting outside handing out Halloween candy when this comment caught me off guard. It's a comment I've heard before. An expression I've seen countless times. And something that, years ago, would have completel
Kelsay Parrott
19 hours ago9 min read
You Don't Have to Be Perfect to Leave a Positive Imprint
I need this reminder just as much as anyone reading this. It is easy to look at the people we admire and assume they have something we do not. We see their kindness, their faith, their leadership, or their ability to encourage others, and we forget that they are human beings, too. They have bad days. They have weaknesses. They have moments they wish they could take back. So do I. There are times I have not responded the way I should have. Times I have been impatient. Times wh
Kelsay Parrott
Oct 217 min read
An Imprint (and Honoring a Nurse)
You make an imprint. For good or for bad, you will always leave one. I don’t know about you, but I love listening to true crime documentaries. I am the kind of person who will take a road trip, turn on a true crime podcast, and imagine I am the detective piecing together where things happened, who was involved, and how the story unfolded. I grew up loving the good old Nancy Drew novels and the shows “Murder She Wrote” and “Dateline”, there is something fascinating about disco
Kelsay Parrott
Oct 2115 min read
Check in On Your People
You know those pillows that say, "Call Your Mom"? I always laugh at those because honestly, sometimes I need more reminders than just a pillow to remember everything I should do and the people I should check in on. One that says "Drink your water", another saying "Answer that text you have been putting off", maybe another that says "change the laundry", and maybe one that says "Check on your people because thinking about them and actually texting them are two different things
Kelsay Parrott
Oct 197 min read
The Story I was Afraid to Share
There are parts of your testimony you can tell a thousand times and still never tell the whole story. Not because you are lying, but because some parts of your story live so deep within you that putting them into words means opening doors you have spent years keeping closed. Sharing your testimony takes discernment, because not everyone needs to know everything, every time. I have shared my burn survivor story countless times. I have talked about the fire, the surgeries, the
Kelsay Parrott
Oct 1623 min read
The Father Who Knelt
Sometimes, God will use the sight of someone else's knees hitting the ground to bring you to your own knees in ways you never expected. Sometimes, the breakthrough you have begged God for or the one you did not know you needed does not come through a sermon, a worship song, or even a prayer spoken over you. Sometimes, it comes when you witness someone else's love, and suddenly, you see all the love you had forgotten was there. That is what happened to me. And all it took was
Kelsay Parrott
Oct 1417 min read
When the Enemy Waters the Weeds
The enemy is so good at giving the negative things growing in your mind a little water from time to time. The thing about weeds is that they go deep, they dig deep and spread further than we ever see. He knows which thoughts to revisit, which wounds to press on, and which lies have taken root deeply that sometimes we don’t even recognize them as lies anymore. He knows that sometimes all it takes is one little thing, one little moment, one little reminder, to make something we
Kelsay Parrott
Oct 129 min read
Calling and Called
I think one of the greatest compliments I could ever receive is one that doesn’t really point to me at all. It points to the Lord in me. Last night I was at Gateway House of Prayer for an equipping night, and part of our worship was spent praying for another country. We were praying for the Middle East, specifically Iraq and Iran. As we worshiped, two people joined my friend and me, and the four of us began to pray and intercede on behalf of people we may never meet, in place
Kelsay Parrott
Oct 78 min read
A Mountain to Climb
Sometimes, we create something with our hands and don't realize just how much of our heart we have put into it until God begins to show us what we have made. I recently participated in a class where I created a piece of scar jewelry. It is a necklace made from metal, textured with the impressions of my own scars. It has a mountain, a blue gem, three peaks, and a little heart hanging beneath it. Every part has meaning. Every detail tells a piece of my story. But I didn't reali
Kelsay Parrott
Oct 615 min read
Four Years and counting
4 Years in PA Four years ago TODAY, my parents and I drove 1,160 miles away from everything that had ever been familiar to me. Away from the home I grew up in. Away from having my family just a few minutes away. Away from the routines, places, people, and comforts that had shaped the first 23 years of my life. I was determined to make the most of this new adventure I had chosen for myself. I remember how enormous that distance felt. Because 1,160 miles isn't just a number whe
Kelsay Parrott
Sep 104 min read
Take Back What the Enemy Stole
The enemy has a funny way of trying to steal, kill, destroy, and ruin us. Sometimes he doesn’t have to take anything from us. Sometimes he just has to convince us to hate what we have. To hate our bodies. To hate our scars. To hate our circumstances. To become angry at our lives and resentful of the journey we never asked for. And if I’m being completely honest, lately I’ve had plenty of reasons to be frustrated. This season has been hard. My body is tired. I’m tired. There h
Kelsay Parrott
Sep 104 min read
V for Victory
Sometimes victory doesn’t look like winning a war. Sometimes it looks like putting on an outfit you were once embarrassed to wear, walking across an airfield while you’re still in pain, and realizing… I’m still living. For those who don’t know, I’m a little bit of a history buff. Okay… nerd might be the better word. 😂 I can talk about WWII, the Homefront, antiques, old stories, and all the little details of history for HOURS. It has always been a love of mine. Something that
Kelsay Parrott
Sep 103 min read
Every Record...
Every Record... Every record tells a story. Not just the story of the music pressed into its grooves, but the story of the artist, the orchestra, and the moment it was created. The joy, the sorrow, the pain, the excitement, the beauty. And if you look closely, every record carries another story too: its own imperfections. The scratches are unique. The wear is unique. Some records have been loved so deeply that the evidence of it is written across their surface. Others have ba
Kelsay Parrott
Sep 104 min read
To a Simpler Time
Take me back to a simpler time. A time of Shakespeare by candlelight, a phonograph humming softly in the background, and the worries of the world not sitting at my fingertips. Take me to a time when handwritten letters were how we communicated instead of instantaneous text messages. When you waited for the mail and wondered what might be waiting for you. When words took time—not because they had to, but because they were worth taking the time to write. Take me to a time where
Kelsay Parrott
Sep 102 min read
Accepting Help
I’ve always been much better at giving than receiving. Give me a person who needs encouragement, and I’ll find the words. Give me someone who needs someone to listen, and I’ll sit with them. Give me a meal to make, an errand to run, a prayer to pray, a burden to help carry, and I’m usually the first one there. I know how to show up for people. I know how to love people practically. I know how to give pieces of myself away without thinking twice—and often without realizing how
Kelsay Parrott
Sep 1010 min read
No Sense Trust Revisited
In February of 2025, I wrote about trust for the first time. I wrote about what trust truly means and how hard it can be. And if I am completely honest, I thought I understood it. I thought I knew what it meant to trust fully. I felt deeply connected to the trust I was experiencing at the time. Looking back now, I realize I understood one version of trust. Life has since introduced me to another. If you haven't read the first piece, I encourage you to read it and then come ba
Kelsay Parrott
Sep 76 min read
I choose.
When my pastor, mentor, and—most importantly—friend visited me the other day, she told me something that stuck with me. She said, “My goal when I was in the hospital was to be the favorite patient. To be the patient every nurse wanted to get.” And honestly, my goal has always been something similar. When I’m hospitalized, my goal has always been to bring joy and peace to the nurses and staff caring for me. And, in turn, that often does make you a favorite patient. But it isn’
Kelsay Parrott
Aug 94 min read
Honoring His 100th
Today would have been my Great-Grandfather Lester Peck’s 100th birthday. A hundred years is a long time to measure a life, but somehow, when I think of Grandfather, that number feels far too small. Some people leave behind photographs, possessions, and stories. Others leave something harder to name—a piece of themselves woven into the people who come after them. Grandfather left that kind of legacy. We were never especially close in distance, nor perhaps in relationship, but
Kelsay Parrott
Aug 84 min read
Positivity Will Change the World
My nurse walked into my room this morning carrying my medications, including the IV medication I'd need before today's dressing change. Another day. Another painful part of recovery. Another reminder that, even twenty-three years after my burn injury, the journey isn't over. As he gathered everything together, he paused for a moment. "I'm sorry you've been dealing with this since you were four." I smiled. "It's been a journey for sure." He looked at me for a second before say
Kelsay Parrott
Aug 64 min read
Sensitive Content:
As a trauma pastor and survivor, I find it essential to alert readers to sensitive topics, ensuring they feel safe and aren’t caught off guard. A simple warning can prevent harm, so please approach this content mindfully. If it may be sensitive for you, consider reading at a safer time or skipping it altogether. If something causes distress, please seek help from a licensed counselor, pastor, or trusted friend. Note that it’s impossible to warn for all triggers, so please advocate for yourself and assess the content before engaging. Thank you for understanding and for helping create a safer environment for all!
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