As I was writing Stones in the River, I prayed that the message I was sharing would be able to reach those who need to hear it.
To date, hundreds have enjoyed reading the stories of my Spiritual Journey, and my heart overflows.
But God isn’t finished with me yet!
I truly believe He is also calling me to share the Spiritual Markers of His Love, Grace, and Faithfulness with an audience even beyond those who have engaged in the book. I was recently invited to take a step in that new direction when Dr. Jeanette Gallagher welcomed me to her BlogTalk Radio Show, “Wellness Radio with Dr. Jeanette,” for a wonderful conversation about God’s hand in our lives.
I am pleased to share that interview with you here, and invite you to settle in with a hot cup of tea and listen in to our discussion.
Listen to Jo and Dr. Jeanette here!
Here are some of Dr. Jeanette’s comments:
Many times I work with end of life clients and we talk about this and we say, “What am I leaving behind?” I’ve seen women hold onto their precious jewels and not even be able to care for themselves at the end of the line, not even taking care of themselves because they thought that they should leave these jewels for other people after they have left. I want to leave them something because I wasn’t a good person or I wasn’t right or this, that or the other. And then I’ve had others who said “I’m still waiting. I can’t leave yet. God, keep taking care of my body so that I’m able to leave a mark. I haven’t done much like building my castle so that everybody can come in after I’m gone.”
They miss the point that is the story is about them. The legacy is their legacy in life. It’s not about the story that you leave for others so they can reflect on. It’s about your life in the first place in the book. It’s really important that you’ve written your story, but you’ve also reflected it with a lot of phrases, a lot of Bible references, but also with pictures and telling your story and how the two mesh together.
The book (Stones in the River) is absolutely a work of art. There are so many pictures in here, wonderful sayings Bible references. Jo shares her heart and soul on every single page. And I think that’s so vitally important, because many times people say that they are afraid to share the life. They are afraid to let others know of their sadness or to let them know of their joy. And sometimes they feel that maybe things would be going in different ways. But I think the book is absolutely gorgeous on every page because when you can feel the emotions and the feelings on each page, it’s really what connects you. You can feel hope on pages and you can actually see it in a lot of the pictures.
I think when you read something like this or you’ve put your hand on the pages, or if you just reflect on a biblical passage or a reference, or even the words or the story or the pictures, it really can help. It’s almost like an engagement that it can help release whatever’s in you. And I think that’s the purpose too, is that when we hear someone’s story, we see a picture, we see a reflection. That in turn can help us to be able to begin to open up.
