I was first introduced to artist Brian Andreas’ StoryPeople my junior year of college.

I had spent a semester in an exchange program at Duke Divinity School, and right before I left, my roommate presented me with a print of “Before Dawn”—she said that she picked it for me because the colors matched the quilt on my bed (which they did), but the message hit close to home:

I’ve always liked the time before dawn because there’s no one around to remind me who I’m supposed to be, so it’s easier to remember who I am. 

It spoke to my belief that God was calling me to ministry, even though I didn’t quite know how that was going to pan out.  It spoke to my growing awareness of the gender expectations and pressures that came with being a young woman.  It spoke to my deep desire to feel rooted…