Show Notes
“Hope is believing in advance what can only be understood in reverse.” These words have been the rally cry of my soul for over a decade now, but I didn’t come up with them myself. Philip Yancey did. This gentle, thoughtful writer has spent his career exploring the topic of suffering which, as you can imagine, has meant so much to me. Today I have the honor of sitting down with Philip to talk about some things that we can’t understand today, but trust we’ll understand some day. (Like his recent Parkinson’s diagnosis.) This hour with Philip filled my soul, and I think it’ll do the same for you. Here’s what you can expect if you join us in the conversation: Why pain is not the enemy The most helpful definition of health I’ve heard yet We can receive God’s comfort, even when we don’t understand Him Stewarding the suffering we never wanted The best thing we can be for God to use us If you need a compassionate, encouraging voice speaking into your suffering—whatever it may be—then this episode is for you!
Show Notes: Where Is God When It Hurts by Philip Yancey - https://a.co/d/6xf3QxV The Gift of Pain: Why We Hurt and What We Can Do About It by Philip Yancey and Dr. Paul Brand - https://a.co/d/3GapVr9 “Parkinson’s—The Gift I Didn’t Want” by Philip Yancey for Christianity Today - https://www.christianitytoday.com/2023/02/philip-yancey-ct-parkinsons-diagnosis-gift-i-didnt-want/ How Should We Then Live?: The Rise and Decline of Western Thought and Culture by Francis A. Schaeffer - https://a.co/d/f5H3bxk Where the Light Fell: A Memoir by Philip Yancey - https://a.co/d/47InSUW Scriptures referenced in this episode: 2 Corinthians 1:4 Romans 8 *** There's so much more to the story. For more messages of hope, free resources, and opportunities to connect with me, visit https://hopeheals.com/katherine. Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/ Subscribe to The GoodHard Story Podcast! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-hard-story-podcast/id1496882479 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0OYz6G9Q2tNNVOX9YSdmFb?si=043bd6b10a664beb Want a little hope in your inbox? Sign up for the Hope Note, our twice-a-month digest of only the good stuff, like reflections from Katherine and a curated digest of the Internet’s most redemptive content: https://hopeheals.com/hopenote Get to know us: Hope Heals: https://hopeheals.com/ Hope Heals Camp: https://hopeheals.com/camp Mend Coffee: https://www.mendcoffee.org/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hopeheals/
More from The GoodHard Story Podcast
What if the only way to bear our grief is to share it? My friend Mayer Buisson is living with the “invisible wheelchair” of Huntington’s Disease. The shame she felt around her diagnosis caused her to keep it a secret. Eventually, carrying it alone became unbearable. Today, Mayer lives with a radical acceptance of her story, and she’s inviting us into the “collateral gifts” of her grief. In this special conversation, you’ll get to sit down in a version of one of my beloved S.O.S. group gatherings to witness that it’s possible to move from shame to surrender, just like Mayer.
What do we do with the stuff that’s not good and hard, but just hard? Toni Collier is no stranger to pain. She’s navigated a childhood of tragedy and two marriages marked by abuse and infidelity. According to her, the pain hasn’t been worth it…but it hasn’t been wasted either. In our conversation, Toni shared how she’s surviving those seasons of “ashes from ashes,” and why she’s not trying to do it alone. Show Notes Mentioned in this conversation: Broken Crayons Still Color by Toni Collier
How are we expected to live well on this side of the sky? Sometimes we need wisdom for the deep, hard, dark suffering. But most of the time, we just need encouragement for the normal lives we’re living on this side of heaven. Laura Wifler is a mother and poet who finds endless inspiration in the mundanity and mess of her everyday life. In our conversation, Laura shares what’s changed in her theology of the body, why she’s relying on the grace of the present, and how a crisis of faith invited her to doubt “toward God.”
What is the first step of moving forward from the worst thing that’s ever happened to you? Join me today for a solo episode as I process some recent thoughts I’ve been having about how healing actually begins with heartbreak. I share some of the painful (and downright bizarre!) early memories of “waking up” from my stroke and being in total denial about my situation. That season taught me just how critical it is to confront the reality of our stories if we ever hope to move forward. In this episode, we’ll process through some insights about how Jesus named his pain, what true lament looks like, and a simple exercise you can borrow to confront reality for yourself.
Episode 126 - Martin Deacon on the “Weird and Wonderful” Gift of Disability What if our disabilities might give us as much—or more—as they take from us? Disability gives us the gift of dependence. That’s the mantra of Martin Deacon, the CEO of Teach Every Nation, who began to lose his vision when he was just twelve years old. In our conversation, Martin shows how his disability transformed an ordinary life into an extraordinary one. Mentioned in this episode: Hippo Lakes - https://visit.hippolakes.com/hopeheals