July Update, and Your Story from 1000 Feet Up
Hello friends,
We pray that you are enjoying the lavish blessings of summer!
Ours has been wonderful—filled with family, friends, and lots of cookouts. The fireflies are delighting us each night. The Retreat Barn will host its first event next week, and Bryan and I will soon be heading to Scotland to celebrate our 40th anniversary.
The longer we live, the more we can testify to the Lord's goodness—to His faithfulness in bringing good through every circumstance of our lives.
This month's article explores the gift of perspective. I pray it encourages you to saunter into your favorite bookstore or library, pick up another believer's story, and perhaps even create your own Spiritual Formation Timeline. You may be surprised by the beautiful patterns that begin to emerge as you trace God's faithful hand through the chapters of your own story.
Your Story from 1,000 Feet Up
Everything seemed to be falling apart.
If only we could have seen a decade down the road, it would have made the pain much easier to bear. Unfortunately, none of us gets that privilege. But hopefully, as we experience God’s faithfulness throughout the years and witness it in others’ lives, we learn to trust God to bring good in the end, just as He promised.
We thought we would live in that house forever. It was our Walton’s Mountain—the place we wanted our children to always call “home” and where we imagined welcoming our grandchildren for cookouts and sleepovers. Yet, our backs were against the wall. The bottom had fallen out of the economy, my husband had to make a career shift, and we had to sell the house we loved.
It didn’t make sense.
We were trying to live faithfully. We loved the Lord. We worked hard. Shouldn’t we be spared from things like this?
The answer is no.
As we pulled out of our long driveway, we looked back with tears streaming down our cheeks. God was calling us to trust- to hold to the truth that He would bring good through every circumstance.
The challenge was to live in faith between that painful moment and its resolution.
The Gift of Perspective
“All things work together for good, for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
Often that’s easier to see in someone else’s life than in our own.
That’s one of the reasons I love biography. I just finished reading the biography of my 2026 spiritual giant, George MacDonald, for the second time. If anyone’s story powerfully illustrates Romans 8:28, it’s his.
George was born in Scotland in 1824. He was passionate for the Lord, went to seminary, and planned to lay down his life pastoring a congregation.
But George’s theology challenged the religious community of his day. So, when he graduated, he struggled to obtain a call from a church. Once he did, the congregation forced him out within two years.
He battled chronic health issues, which confined him to bed for weeks and months throughout his life. Plagued with tuberculosis, several of his family members, including his mother, two brothers, and four of his children, died from it.
After failing as a minister, he turned his attention to becoming a poet. The problem was his poetry didn’t sell. So, his publisher encouraged him to write fiction, which wasn’t his preference. Faced with a growing family that needed food and shelter, he reluctantly did as his publisher asked. Doors began to open.
As he began to write, the very theology that had provoked his church to force him out of the pulpit flowed through his pen. It was that theology which all of Scotland and the world needed to shape their understanding of the love and fatherhood of God from that generation to this one.
If it weren’t for the painful closed doors, George wouldn’t have had the time to write the fiction and fantasy that influenced millions — including J.R.R. Tolkien, G.K. Chesterton, Madeleine L’Engle, and even C.S. Lewis — who came back to Christ through a divine touch he sensed as he read Phantastes. (See Resources Section)
To George, God’s plan probably looked muddy. Looking down from 1000 feet, however, it is crystal clear.
That’s the gift of biography. It lets us see God’s faithfulness over an entire lifetime. When we see Him work all things together for good in someone else’s story, it gives us the faith to believe that He is doing the same in ours!
Looking Back on Our Story
Chatting with my husband recently, we talked about that painful point when we had to say goodbye to the home we loved almost 20 years ago.
Oh, the good things that God had in store!
If we hadn’t left …
We wouldn’t have attended the church in our new community where we found healing. We wouldn’t have met the pastor who shepherded our son back to Christ.
Our second son wouldn’t have had the opportunities that meant the world to his future in his senior year.
Our 3rd son wouldn’t have obtained his Eagle Scout designation.
Our fourth son wouldn’t have had important opportunities in the arts.
Our daughter wouldn’t have attended the youth group that eventually led to her work with Youth with a Mission.
My husband wouldn’t have shifted to the career—that led to incredible fulfillment.
I wouldn’t have met the friend who introduced me to Spiritual Direction.
Most importantly, we wouldn’t have learned to trust God like we did.
Now we can testify of God’s faithfulness not only when everything goes “right” but when everything seems to be falling apart. No matter what the circumstances, He’s right there in the middle of it, working all things together for good!
An Exercise That Will Change How You See Your Story
Biography — seeing the full picture of someone else’s life — is powerful. It gives us hope.
Summer is a wonderful time to pick one up--to enjoy as you travel, read at the beach, or savor while swaying in a hammock.
As I read my giant’s biography this month, I remembered a practice I learned during my spiritual direction training that I thought you might enjoy as well:
Create a Spiritual Formation Timeline.
As you read the biography of someone you admire, jot down the significant moments when God was at work—from childhood through the end of their life.
Then create one for your own life.
As you step back and look at your stories from the 1,000-foot view, you may begin to notice patterns of God’s faithfulness that were difficult to see while you were living them.
Let me know what you discover--I’d love to hear!
P.S. If you’re short on time, you could watch a biographical movie, like the great one in the Resources section below.
Resources Worth Noticing:
George MacDonald: Scotland’s Beloved Storyteller by Michael R. Phillips
Phantastes by George MacDonald.
A Burning in My Bones: The Authorized Biography of Eugene H. Peterson, Translator of the Message by Winn Collier. One of my all-time favorite biographies!
The Most Reluctant Convert: The Untold Story of C.S. Lewis. Movie. Click here to watch the Trailer
Worth Remembering:
"A young man who wishes to remain a sound Atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. There are traps everywhere."
C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy
So thankful to be journeying together,
Lori
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