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Lessons in Loneliness
If you’re like me in any way, you thrive on connection. That sense of belonging, of sharing the inside joke or seeing someone’s eyes light up when they see you, the hum of energy in a crowd or the chuckle to yourself at reading a loved one’s silly text. The community to support you when all else around you doesn’t make sense. Even the most introverted person needs connection, though it could look differently than an extrovert like me. Even if your village is small, it is stil

C. J. Parke
Jan 214 min read


Warmest Greetings
To All Who Have Been with The Fruitful Hollow Since the Beginning and Anyone Just Stumbling Upon Our Ministry, the deepest and most affectionate welcome. My name is CJ and I am humbled to greet you as the new director of The Fruitful Hollow after the remarkable 5 years our ministry has spent under Lauren, our fearless first director . I would like to take a brief moment to introduce myself and share a little about the journey that led me to writing this. I was born with Turne

C. J. Parke
Jan 74 min read


When fertility is gone: frozen at 19
Nearly 10 years later, I still think about that version of myself that had to sit there and begin to process the reality of my complete infertility. There is still a part of me that has been frozen, stuck in that doctor’s office. And I avoided that 19 year-old as much as I could over the near decade. My fertility was gone and, with it, my worth. Or, at least that’s the lie I told myself.

C. J. Parke
May 1, 20253 min read
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