The last time I studied Socrates must have been about twelve years ago, shuffled into an enormous room filled with 300–400 other students, learning about the philosophy of education.

As a small-town girl sitting in such a big class, I was intimidated. But there I was, becoming what I always thought I would be: a high school English teacher.

It’s funny how the tables turn and you end up in a job across the world, never really thinking much about Socrates at all — until you decide to pick up the basics of Political Science.

(I’m only working part-time and sometimes I feel like I am going a little crazy talking to a toddler all day, so of course I decided to listen to podcasts and talk to them too 😜)

Anyway, as I listen and study Socrates again, I realize there are many things I didn’t remember learning about him — like the fact that he was on trial for defying “the gods,” and that he died trying to stand for the truth. Pretty big fact!

My most recent post on Substack was The Line Between Truth and Love, and I keep thinking about that line even now.

It was certainly not loving to himself for Socrates to drink the hemlock poison. And yet he did it for the sake of doing the right thing — following through on his conviction, a truth that haunted him…

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While we were on a beautiful day trip to Kakheti, the gorgeous wine region in the Caucasus, we met a lovely Kazakh woman. She was nominally Muslim and seemed to believe that the Quran and the Bible were quite similar.

“I’ve done a lot of research on Islam, but it hasn’t been very convincing to me,” Peter told her.

“I think both the Quran and the Bible have Jesus in them, don’t they?”

“Yes, but the Quran says that Jesus was a prophet and that he died.”

“Yes.”

“The Bible says that Jesus died, but was raised from the dead to save us from our sins.”

“Really?!” She was shocked.

Now I was shocked that she was shocked 😂 (But I tried not to show it, lol). Sometimes I’m honestly surprised that people don’t know — not because I think they’re stupid (they definitely aren’t!), but because I forget that there are so many countries around the world that simply don’t teach Christianity.

In Canada and America, almost everyone can tell you who Jesus is according to the Bible. Since we’re in an Orthodox country here in Georgia, I’d say most people here can too. But other countries are not like that.

We as Westerners love to stay in our comfortable little bubbles. And if we’re not comfortable, we’re seeking comfort all the time. It’s like a nasty addiction that starts out as an innocent “let’s try this” and turns into a massive, even lustful, heartache for more, more, more.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting comfort… but how much are we stepping out of our own comfort zone for the sake of others?

I’m not saying we need to go so far as to drink hemlock lol, but we have to remember that the world does not revolve around us — it never has and it never will.

It revolves around the one who created it.

(If you’d like to see more reasons why I believe in the Christian God, you can read my blog from several years ago called “Why I Believe.”)

How much are we willing to do the hard thing for the long-term gain?

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This past month, I had a tooth implant done. It took a lot of research because an implant is something I’m going to have to live with for the rest of my life. It was a painful experience once the anesthetics wore off (although not as debilitating as recovering from my emergency c-section, lol), but this implant is going to benefit me so much more in the long run. (It’s hard to explain, but basically if I don’t get the implant, my teeth will cave in on themselves.)

Saying the truth in love will never be easy — especially since what counts as “loving” can look different from culture to culture — but it is beneficial in the long run.

And as Christians, we don’t have to be afraid, because we can rely on the one true definition of love — God himself — to show us how to speak the truth in love well. (For more on that, read The Line Between Truth and Love! 😜)

August 2026 brought a tooth implant, a beautiful day trip outside the city, the start of something new (hello, Poli-Sci 👋), and the pursuit of sharing truth in love. ❤️

With love from Tbilisi🫶

P.S. I’ll be in Ontario, Canada for 2.5 months starting late September — if you’re reading this and you’re there too, I’d love to meet up! Let me know 😊