After life roundhouse-kicked me in the teeth, in the form of a life-imploding divorce, at 27 in 2019, I sought healing by salting the wound, running towards the inferno of brokenness instead of getting lost in the wilderness. It was a painful inner process while the reality of life was crumbling in my hands. I was already down, already low, already at rock bottom.
Through intense surrender, somatic work, soul searching, hard-sought healing, scraping by financially, traveling as much as I could, and learning how to dance through healing this massive amount of pain... I gave this very personal process a name, WhereDanaWent which has turned into - Dana on Detours.
With every adventure since then, from beaches in the Lowcountry of South Carolina; to the flat
desert sunsets in New Mexico; weaving through the Redwoods in California; taste testing all the seafood up and down New England, and trudging through snow-covered scapes in Alaska, I slowly began reconciling myself with each new, clean slate every time I got back home. The pain was blunted with every new venture. Traveling like a college kid while making my way through the wilderness.
Not only is this sentiment of "Dana on Detours" literal for the places I roam; for the people I've met; the stories I've heard, but also figuratively for the spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental places I've walked and will walk as I keep on seeking peace and healing and seeing what is coming next in this wild life.
DanaOnDetours is a passion project, a ministry of permission to heal as healing comes for me, and then sharing that with whoever will listen. My hope is for DOD to become a place for ongoing conversation positioned towards those wanting healing, seeking places to surrender to the whim of life, quiet the internal chatter, drown out the noise, while sharing these "detours" we all seem to find ourselves on at some point in our lives. A place to find a glimmer of hope. A road map of what has worked for other people who may be just a few steps ahead of you on a similar detour!
For me, DOD is a place for me to dwell with The Holy Spirit, to say "yes" to broadcasting redemption stories and my active work as the hands and feet of my sovereign savior.
DOD is only possible only by the mercy of God and the grace of Christ who has given me this redemptive chance to do things differently, under his provision and by his design.
I'm excited to share this path of roaming alongside you, as we venture forward, in the most vulnerable and authentic way possible, in hopes of creating unity, across all people, in struggle, in crisis, in adventure, in Christ, in the happiness and healing that is to come, ultimately locking arms as you find your way through your wilderness.
Some soul searching definitely require
Comments