And Then, There Was Francis
Enjoy these little stories from Behind the Scenes of Journey with a Giant
“I have done what was mine to do. I pray that you will do what is yours.”
Some decisions are too important to make quickly. Choosing the spiritual giant I’d walk with for the final two years of my spiritual direction training was one of them.
When my pre-course packet arrived that May, I wrestled all summer with who to choose. Two years felt like a long time to spend with anyone. What if I chose wrong? What if I missed the best one for me?
(Yes, I’m definitely what you would call an “over-thinker.”)
From my experience the year before, I should have known that it wasn’t really us choosing our giants. It was God’s Spirit guiding us — drawing us to the one He knew would shape us best.
At first, I considered Augustine. Can you imagine how much you would learn? Who could be a better guide into the profoundness of faith? But I wasn’t sure I was ready for someone that intense.
Then C.S. Lewis — yes! Who wouldn’t want to learn from him forever? Still, it didn’t feel quite right.
I wanted someone deep ... but I was going to be spending 2 years with this person. It would be nice at least once in a while to think about something lighter than our existential existence-- maybe lift my head from the Strong’s concordance and smile periodically, possibly even crack a joke or laugh?
Who, who could it be? Who was holy but also human?
And then, there was Francis.
Far more than the statue in church gardens, hands outstretched to the birds, Francis of Assisi was unreservedly devoted to Christ —and just plain likable-- the kind of guy you could talk to at a party or in the confessional. Yes, he was someone I could hang with for a long time!
I chose Francis for his love of nature, simplicity, and people. My own heart’s desire has always been to “Live Simply, Love Deeply, and Laugh Often.” It’s a motto I sigh over whenever I see it painted on a sign — and one I find gut-wrenchingly difficult to practice.
Over the next two years, I read biographies of Francis, studied his fables, pored over Franciscan art and the Franciscan cross, and gathered his most beloved quotes. I got to know him well and was changed by walking with him.
By the end of our first year, though, I thought I had received all that Francis had for me. And there were so many other great, holy people from history that I hadn’t walked with yet. How I wished I could choose someone new for year two!
But my instructors knew better. After twenty-five years of guiding students, they knew that the deepest work was still to come.
They were right.
----------
It was April 2020, deep in the COVID lockdown. I was walking the perimeter of our 20-acre retreat center, asking God again for an answer I’d been seeking since I began the program three years earlier:
What do You want me to do with my life?
I was standing at a crossroads. The season of child-raising was ending. Friends and family were pressing in on every side with their “perfect plans for my life”. I had worked in my husband’s business and could increase my role there. Before I had children, I was in college; some were saying I should go back and get my degree. With six grown children who would be marrying soon, I could continue my focus on homemaking, add a little volunteer work, and become the “World’s Best Grandmother”.
All great options, but none of them felt like what God had for me.
This was serious. I knew as quickly as the 30 years of adult life I had lived so far had gone, the next 30 would be gone in the blink of an eye. Whatever my contribution to this world, it would be determined by the choices before me now.
I didn’t want to be pushed, told, or even passively slide into how my life would be spent. I wanted to, I needed to make these decisions for myself. No one was responsible or privileged to steward the precious entrustment of my life, except me.
So, I prayed, “Lord, what are You calling me to? Am I to devote my time fully to being a wife and grandmother? A retreat leader? A spiritual director? A writer?”
And in the quiet, the Holy Spirit whispered:
“I’m not going to give you a role. A role is too small. I want to give you a fruit.”
“A fruit? I asked, “What do you mean?”
“It’s to love. In whatever form it takes each day. Some days it will look like welcoming guests to the prayer cabin. Other days it will be leading retreats, writing words of encouragement, or gathering your family around the table. Every day—love, in whatever form it takes.”
Immediately, I thought of Francis.
He lived this way—open-handed and open-hearted. Some days preaching in town squares, other days feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, or retreating to the caves of Assisi with his band of followers to rest and pray. He acted in whatever form love took that day.
Through Francis, the Spirit showed me how to live out my calling: not in one title or job description, but as a daily expression of love.
And moments later, I remembered this quote from Francis, which had come back to me many times in the two years we had walked together,
“I have done what was mine to do. I pray you will do what is yours.”
And I whispered a prayer, “Oh God, thank you. I have finally found it.”
Invitation to the Journey
If you also desire to walk closer with God and discover your own calling, I know Journey with a Giant will speak to you!
In its pages, you’ll learn how to walk with a spiritual giant from history and let their example lead you further into all that God has for you.
Order your printed copy or audiobook today.
Stay Tuned ...
In my next Behind-the-Scenes story, I’ll share about the marvelous way God brought someone across my path who became a key part of Journey with a Giant’s story.
It all began so simply—just a quiet referral from a friend. But it reminded me how you never know how significant one small encounter might become in your life.
It’s a story of divine providence you won’t want to miss!