The Starling Storm
Christ told me to scream, shout, and yell my story.
I did.
Listen. Do you hear it?
The thunder crash of survivors speaking up.
Survivor after survivor, Latter-day Saint women and men, telling their stories. Not in hatred, not in shame, not scared of anger, not fearing pain.
Arms open, head back, and singing of a Savior's love.
Each story a new starling rising to the storm,
Lightning in their throat,
Glorifying the God who gave us the power to SPEAK.
What was the only thing that could scare off the starling storm ?
The sound of their own voices, amplified 100 times, shouted back at them.
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Yet, the number of starlings who flock to Rome keep on growing.
It probably isn't fair that the people of Rome get covered in starling poo. Isn't talking about sexual abuse messy and uncomfortable too? I hope for a world that does not only complain about the mess, but looks up in awe. And when they do, they ask: why are those starlings here? What have they got to teach me? I pray we may sit a moment longer in the storm, long enough to see ourselves in it too.
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Until then, I don't know about you, but if flying with my starling brothers and sisters mean we poop some truth on someone else's parade, so be it. I choose to focus on the beauty of the flight.
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The clear-sighted will know to look up instead of down.
The Starling Rules
Join the conversation. The Starling Storm is gathering makers, artists, spiritual seekers, nature lovers, sexual abuse survivors, Latter-day Saints. All of those willing to know the divine feminine. A starling murmuration functions off of three rules:
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1. Fly with us
One starling can change the shape of the entire murmuration. Scientists theorize that starlings pay attention to their six or seven closest flying neighbors. They agree to watch one another, move left and right, up and down in concert.
Small groups of creators conversing. That’s what makes up the dance of a murmuration.
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2. Keep appropriate distance
Somehow, in the swirling and whirling, the starlings do not crash into one another. They maintain appropriate distance from their pod of neighbors.
So can we. We’ll talk about some of the toughest human experiences when we talk about sexual abuse. Let’s agree to keep our stories at headline level of detail when we first meet each other. Relationship first. Details later, if needed.
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3. Maintain a balance between light and dark
Starlings maintain both dark and light in their field of vision. A starling whose vision is all ground or all sky for too long is a starling likely to crash.
We will be patient with those who need to sit longer in the dark. We will coexist with those who have found their way to the light. Let us not forget where we were. Let us not lose hope in where we can and will go. Here, we listen to one another. Relationship first. Advice later, if you ask permission to give it.
Fly with us. Keep appropriate distance. Maintain a balance between light and dark. If the starlings can do it, we can too. May the world look up in awe at what we’ll create.
Welcome, darling, to the Starling Storm. I look forward to the conversation.
My story isn't like yours
You cry out: "I don't agree!
You are not like me. My story is different."
Wonderful.
I'm so glad you are here.
Stay.
I need to hear your story too.​
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It is only in the diversity of voices that we get anywhere near truth.
An editor from Covenant Communications listened to my pitch and asked to see the full manuscript of Starling Warrior.
Personal revelation I got during a keynote at the Latter-day Saints in Publishing, Media, and the Arts Conference 2023.
I told a friend how beautiful her feelings and her struggle are. I needed to hear that too.