A Little About Me

My name is A.J. White. I’ve always found myself at home outside. On a bike, climbing a tree, exploring the woods, etc. As I’ve gotten a little older I’ve welcomed with more rhythm, the every day of tending to flowers and taking walks. I’ve lived a lot of my life here in Indiana. I did spend a few years amongst the mountains and desert, and my soul really came alive there. A year in Bellingham, WA along the evergreen coast of the Northwest and a few years in the desert of Phoenix, AZ. I was able to really play out there and there was no shortage of hikes and trails at my disposal.

Life has been quite the journey for me. I’ve done a lot of different things in my adult life. I went to school for physical eduction, went on full time staff with the ministry of Young Life (twice), became a cancer survivor, worked a number of odd jobs amidst transition, became an entrepreneur, dug into the world of design, did some things I love that I never though I’d do for a living. And then I burned out, met my limits in a way I never had before, and began a few steps into a disorienting road to recovery, a few months before the pandemic set in. I hit a wall head on, and simultaneously encountered a desert or dark night of the soul type moment of my life. When I say moment, I mean years.

Though I had stumbled into counseling at a different season prior in my life, I returned again and took a deeper dive, also learning what it means to really engage our stories. I’d say I found, in a sense, my calling, though I still like to hold that word with a little looseness and maybe a little outside it’s traditional sense. I don’t think there is necessarily one calling we are working towards finding, with some of us seemingly taking a lot longer to figure out. I think there’s calling written all over our lives in a number of seasons and ways and places. And I imagine as we grow and change, so might our calling. Let’s just say, for the sake of getting back to the story, I’d heard it said before that our calling is the place where our passions and our burdens collide. Though I’ve held many passions, I could never say I felt really burdened for something in particular. Then it came.

I found myself wiped out in our full speed, filled to the brim world in which we all seemed to have little space or capacity to sit with one another in needs and realities. What I experienced along the way led to holding a passion in one hand and a burden in the other. I’ve spent the last few years continuing to dive a bit deeper into soul care and spiritual formation though things continue to move and shift a bit.

In the spring of 2021 I stepped away from my business, sold my house (and bought a smaller house), simplified, and headed into a season of Sabbatical. I leaned in to spiritual formation and direction, beginning the School of Spiritual Direction program through Sustainable Faith. That Sabbatical season was a life preserving gift for me. Coming out of that season has been a bit of a windy road. I came holding the passions and the burdens of the life I’ve lived and journeyed with God and others. And now, in my own way, I now long to be a sacred companion with others as Jesus guides us through our journeys. I think I’ve discovered along the way, a natural knack for making room… with others, in the world we live, with Jesus. I hold with a tender care, those hitting the wall, feeling disoriented through the dark night, and aching with longing and loneliness.

I currently live in a little mid-century ranch here in Evansville, Indiana. I’ve loved bringing a bit of the desert to life through design in this place I call home. I share it with my little Craigslist dog, June (named after June Carter Cash) who joined me a few days after the pandemic quarantine lifted. She’s wonderful and I savor her companionship on the daily.