Rachel Marie Kang
9 min read ⭑
“Writing, painting, posting on social media — all of creativity is communal. There’s something so fiercely beautiful about coming to believe that and centering your life around making space for the words and work of others.”
QUESTION #1: ACQUAINT
There’s much more to food than palate and preference. How does a go-to meal at your favorite hometown restaurant reveal the true you behind the web bio?
I can’t just tell you about it ... I have to take you there.
I have to take you downtown to Lafayette Ave and park the car in the same spot I always do. I have to open that heavy, wooden door, swing it wide open and sit you down at any one of those tables with Mexican tiles.
We’ll fill up on warm tortilla chips served with guacamole made fresh at the table. And we’ll drink cup after cup of horchata — my favorite sweet, Mexican drink made from rice. We’ll be so full — from food and fellowship — that we forget we’ve ordered the carne asada with rice and refried beans, until it comes sizzling hot to the table, while Mariachi music plays in the background and bottles clink at the bar.
We’ll lose ourselves in the moment, seemingly finding ourselves in South Mexico, as we stare off at the textured walls and murals of folk art. And I will finally tell you how this restaurant was the one place — in all my high-school years in New York — where I felt I belonged.
So many afternoons I spent my time gathered around those tables with my Spanish teachers, the ones who called me Raquelita and why Mexican culture — to this day — feels like home to me, all because of memories made around tables at The Hacienda de Don Manuel.
Alexandra Mirgheș; Unsplash
QUESTION #2: REVEAL
We’ve all got quirky proclivities and out-of-the-way interests. So what are yours? What so-called “nonspiritual” activities do you love and help you find spiritual renewal?
There’s something about driving in a car alone with instrumental music playing — This Will Destroy You or Hans Zimmer. It’s soothing, sobering and soul-saving. Looking out the window and watching the movie of trees speed before your eyes. As a thinker, nothing fills me more than being and breathing in quiet and contemplative spaces.
I could be driving nowhere yet still feel like I’m “getting somewhere” deep down inside — in my thoughts and in my feelings. I love it when moments like that happen in the mundane.
But I’ve also been known to pick up and take off to faraway places — not merely for the destination, but for the drive it takes to get there.
QUESTION #3: CONFESS
Every superhero has a weakness. Every human, too. We're just good at faking it. But who are we kidding? We’re broken and in this thing together. So what’s your kryptonite and how do you hide it?
I’m not afraid of heights or the dentist. I’m not afraid of failing or looking like a fool. I’m not afraid of doing things scared or doing them wrong. But I am afraid of breaking hearts.
I’m afraid of letting others down and, even worse, being misunderstood in any capacity. I’m afraid of not being known — really known — in my pain, my passions and my pursuits.
When I carry this fear too closely, I cradle it to my own detriment. Unchecked, this fear can lead to my greatest weakness, which is that I will do anything humanly possible to make someone understand who I am — intentions and all.
I will break boundaries, bend over backward, overcompensate, lose myself for the sake of saving others — all in the name of proving my love and loyalty.
Ever grateful that there is grace in the growth...
QUESTION #4: FIRE UP
Tell us about your toil. How are you investing your professional time right now? What’s your obsession? And why should it be ours?
Gosh, it’s one thing to create and make things yourself — but it’s another (magical, wonderful and sacred) thing to help others create and make things themselves.
I always like to say that writing for me was a “hoarded hobby.” It was something I love and also something I found I was good at. I wrote poems as a young girl and went on to study creative writing in college. Success in writing eventually became my obsession until I realized that, beyond simply striving to succeed in writing, I could use it as a way to welcome others in.
Writing, painting, posting on social media — all of creativity is communal. There’s something so fiercely beautiful about coming to believe that and centering your life around making space for the words and work of others.
All that to say, a lot of my sweat, blood and tears have been going into building up The Fallow House — a community prompting creatives through seasons of both pause and productivity. I’m finding that the cultivation of our creativity changes just like the seasons do. People are always searching for safe places to step out and explore that process.
And of course, there’s the release of my book, “Let There Be Art: The Pleasure and Purpose of Unleashing the Creativity within You” — a creative and cathartic call for all of us to embrace the pleasure and purpose inherent in our art.
QUESTION #5: BOOST
Cashiers, CEOs, contractors or customer service reps, we all need grace flowing into us and back out into the world. How does the Holy Spirit invigorate your work? And how do you know it’s God when it happens?
I always love this question! Because that means I get to share the most unassuming answer. I wrote about this in my book, “Let There Be Art,” and I’m not ashamed to say ... God often speaks to me through movies.
Literally, there’s a part in my book where I write:
“It was not a church service that soothed my soul; it was a story, scenes from the script of a movie about robot aliens in a fight against good and evil ... I’m sitting there, eyes staring into the screen, watching Sam Witwicky as played by Shia LaBeouf in “Transformers.” Charged with a task that could save the world, Sam runs to escape the grip of Megatron, the leader of the evil Decepticons. He climbs to the top of a skyscraper while holding the All Spark cube, from which all life is centered. Afraid to look down, he shuffles along the edge of the building, breath trembling. Then, Megatron speaks in a voice that booms with darkness and evil: ‘Is it fear or courage that compels you, fleshling?’”
That scene cut right to my core and found me out where I was in that season — faithless and full of fear.
I think in movies (literally, ideas and stories come to me like cut strips of film), so it makes sense that I would hear God speak through them.
If God can talk to us through Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam,” why wouldn't he also be able to talk to us through motion picture?
QUESTION #6: inspire
Scripture and tradition beckon us into the rich and varied actions that open our hearts to the presence of God. So spill it, which spiritual practice is workin' best for you right now?
Confession time — I just started journaling again.
It’s been about two years since I’ve picked up pen and paper to pour out my heart before God in a journal. I got lost a little. My life changed (new job and new baby), the world changed (pandemic), my health changed (I was recently diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease) ... and all of these things together made journaling logistically hard to sustain, let alone attempt.
Now I’m learning to embrace the fact that the process looks different than it used to, and this gives me so much freedom to step out and try again.
Instead of penning long journal entries in one session, I capture brief thoughts — a line here, a confession there — as they come. I now paint in my journal too, something I’ve always wanted to do. Nothing grandiose or big. Just simple shapes and strokes that evoke how I’m feeling.
I feel like the brevity actually allows me to breathe unburdened. There’s no sense of obligation or forcing my hand at seeking and finding God in one sitting.
It reminds me of a Smith Wigglesworth quote my grandpa would often repeat:
“I don’t often spend more than half an hour in prayer at one time, but I never go more than half an hour without praying.”
QUESTION #7: FOCUS
Our email subscribers get free ebooks featuring our favorite resources —lots of things that have truly impacted our faith lives. But you know about some really great stuff, too. What are three resources that have impacted you?
You have to — without question — listen to “Time” by Hans Zimmer. It’s a song from the soundtrack for the movie “Inception.” Guess what? I wrote about this in my book, too! How could I not?
It’s the most stunning song — arrests your soul to dream and ponder life as you know. Gets you thinking about God and creation. Gets you wondering: Am I making the most of my life? Of my time here on earth? Of the days I share with the ones I love?
Since we’re on the topic of music, I have to share the album I currently have on repeat. (And when I say repeat, I mean repeat. My poor family — I think they know all the words by heart now.)
Jesús Adrián Romero has long since been one of my favorite artists. He’s a singer, composer, author and pastor from Mexico. His latest album “¿Cómo Me Ves?” — meaning “How do you see me?” — beautifully and musically explores the simple moments and introspections that draw us deeper into relationship with God. I’m not fluent in Spanish, but even still, the songs melt my heart and soothe my soul.
I also can’t get enough of MasterClass — and the classes I’ve worked through have taught me so much. I don’t have many subscriptions or memberships; however, this is one I deem worth the investment. A few of the classes I've enjoyed are: Matthew Walker Teaches the Science of Better Sleep, Anna Wintour Teaches Creativity and Leadership, Tyler Mitchell Teaches Storytelling Through Portrait Photography and Terence Tao Teaches Mathematical Thinking.
We all have things we cling to to survive (or thrive) in tough times. Name one resource you’ve found indispensable in this current season — and tell us what it’s done for you.
There’s something about reading the words of others and being encouraged — through your highest highs and lowest lows — that you are not alone in your wondering as you walk with God.
Every day an email from the (in)courage blog slips into my inbox, and it’s just like a gift of grace to read the honest, hopeful words of fellow seekers on the days when I need it most.
QUESTION #8: dream
God is continually stirring new things in each of us. So give us the scoop! What’s beginning to stir in you but not yet fully awakened? What can we expect from you in the future?
I’ll tell you a story about a woman who wrote her first book while pregnant in the middle of a global pandemic. While she wrote her book, she went from doctor to doctor to hear what they might say about the swell in her neck. Bone-tired, barely sure of her own strength, she continued on — in and out of weeks — unearthing a book from beneath the surface of her beating heart.
Words became sentences, sentences became stories and the book became all that it was meant to become. But now comes the time for the birth of the book. For pushing it out into the world — all baby breath and new beginnings.
I am the woman, and this book is a gift from my hands.
This next season is the most important one. As I launch my book, “Let There Be Art,” into the world, I am also launching myself into the world. I am desperate for dialogue — for this book to become more than its beginning. I dream of hearing stories of inspiration ... stories to go beyond those bound in the pages of my book. I am excited to step out of the solitude of creating a book and into the community that comes through sharing a book.
Hearing stories, shaking hands, gatherings of goodness — just eager to see it all.
What are you most afraid of? Rachel said her biggest fear isn’t heights or dentists or clowns or any of the other common phobias. It’s letting other people down and being misunderstood.
If we’re being honest with ourselves, our biggest fear is probably similar. It could be rejection, being forgotten, feeling unloved or not being respected.
Thankfully, the Word of God shares the antidote with us: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18a, ESV). When we allow ourselves to fully receive God’s love — and let it overflow toward others — the possibility of being unloved, misunderstood or rejected loses its power.
And in the meantime, as Rachel pointed out, “there is grace in the growth.”
Rachel Marie Kang is a New York native, born and raised just outside New York City. She’s the founder of The Fallow House, and her writing has been featured in Christianity Today, Proverbs 31 Ministries, and (in)courage. A mixed woman of African American, Native American (Ramapough Lenape Nation), Irish and Dutch descent, she’s a graduate of Nyack College with a Bachelor of Arts in English with Creative Writing. Rachel lives and writes in North Carolina with her husband and their two children. Connect with her at rachelmariekang.com and on social media @rachelmariekang.
