When I was in my early 20s, I brought a bundle of dried sage on a women’s camping excursion and proceeded to light it and waft it in the air. My best friend, who knew me to be a “no-nonsense” sort of Christian, asked if I had taken up the Native American practice of smudging to ward away evil spirits.
After a good laugh about her confusion, I explained I wasn’t warding away evil, but I was…