4:13 Podcast: [BONUS] A Few Peaceful Minutes With Ann Voskamp

Jennifer Rothschild: Hey, 413ers! This is Jennifer Rothschild! My friend Ann Voskamp's new book, "Waymaker: Finding the Way to the Life You've Always Dreamed Of," just hit the shelves. And I just finished recording a whole podcast episode with her that's going to post in a few weeks. But, oh my goodness, I did not want you to wait. She has so much good stuff to share. So, consider this bonus episode an appetizer. But here's the thing... I created it just a little differently. So you're not going to hear me. You won't hear my questions. You will only hear Ann Voskamp. She's going to talk about what to do if you're having a hard day or a hard year. She's going to share with you what her new book is about, and she's even going to pray for you at the end. I hope you're ready for just a few minutes of peace and inspiration with my friend Ann Voskamp. Enjoy!

Ann Voskamp: Waymaker really is ... I was looking at how the waves of life keep coming at all of us. Life is really about waves, the up and the down, the ebbing and the flowing. And how do you walk through the waves? How do you find a way through? And telling the story both of my marriage and adoption of our youngest daughter and in the midst of the tsunamis that come, the waves that come so often, we say we want a way "through." But that means ... do we have a way of life, a rhythm of life, spiritual disciplines, a habit of life, a way of life that keeps us with the Way Himself. And in doing so, when we have a way of life that keeps us with the Way Himself, Jesus, that's what holds back the waves. You have an intentionality, a rhythm and a way of life that keeps you with Jesus Himself. So you keep company with Jesus, who will make the way into -- sometimes I know in my own life, Jennifer -- and I write about this in Waymaker -- we say God will make a way. The subtext of that often is -- I confess -- God will make a way to what I want.

God will do what I imagine, what I expect, what I hope. But, like the Israelites, we say we want God to part the "red seas" and make a way to our promised land. But God isn't making away to a place or a destination. God is always making a way to a person and a relationship. Do I want Jesus? Do I want relationship and intimacy more than I want a destination? Where we want to arrive at ultimately is in deep communion with Him. That's why Jesus came to the cross. That's what the atonement is for ... is "at-one-ment" with Him. We need a way of life that keeps us closely attached in "at-one-ment" communion with Jesus because He is the way through.

Ann Voskamp: Waymaker really is looking at my own story and also the story of the Israelites who are in bondage to Pharaoh in Egypt and their crossing of the Red Sea. And when the Angel of Death passes over the Israelites in Egypt and they're told to gather their belongings very very quickly and make haste to leave immediately, the Israelite women -- they don't have time to gather up much of anything. They don't even have time to let their bread rise as they have to flee quickly. What do the Israelite women do? They grab their tambourines and bring their tambourines with them. And when the Lord takes them -- that pillar of fire and cloud, when he takes them across the Red Sea and they're on the other side, what do they do? Miriam leads the women to take out their tambourines and to praise God ... to give thanks to God. So, here on the kitchen wall I have this collection of tambourines because I want to remember, no matter what I am facing, no matter what obstacle, no matter what Red Sea is in front of me, I am bringing my tambourine because I believe with unwavering faith that God will give me a reason to praise Him and thank Him.

Ann Voskamp: After I handed in Waymaker and struggling with the profound grief after dad was killed and Wade was killed, I had to work through the edits and the proof of the book and it preached back to me all again. I can testify He is the waymaker who makes way through something you don't even think you can live through, not because He leads you to a place that is better -- He leads you into the person of Himself who is far more than you could ever dream, ask or imagine. For He is real and intimate and close and His arms hold. I don't know what the road ahead of me holds, but I know that Jesus is my way and road and He does hold. It's been a brutal year, and Jesus is more beautiful to me than He has ever been.

Ann Voskamp: Yeah, I think sometimes what happens in our own head, Jennifer, is we have a map in our own head of the way our lives should go. But it doesn't actually coincide with the landscape under our feet -- with our own reality. So we need a different map in our heads so that we can actually go the right way that makes sense with what our lives look like, which is a complete paradigm shift. Can I believe -- as I say in WayFarer's Manifesto -- a few of the points ... Strong winds? We don't like strong winds, but can I trust strong winds are actually blowing a Red Sea road? Can I trust that what's in my way is actually leading to the way? What looks like it's really hard and difficult -- what's in the way -- is actually pushing me closer to Jesus and is leading me in deeper intimacy of prayer and seeking God out. Can I actually trust that the obstacle is the miracle? Can I believe that the only way to cross through the waters is when I surrender to living like the cross so that WayFarer's Manifesto is actually giving you an internal soul map -- a brain map -- that reorients the topography of your life so that you are moving closer to Jesus step by step.

Jennifer Rothschild: Beautiful!

Ann Voskamp: That pilgrim -- that WayFarer's prayer -- Darryl and I pray it -- my husband and I pray it just to go ahead and reorient ourselves to true reality. So the map we have in our head and the heart actually reorients the reality of Jesus right here with us. So, I will just close with that, Jennifer.

Jennifer Rothschild: Love it!

Ann Voskamp: God give us the grace to embrace the mysteries we don't understand, the cruciform openness to live a tender surrender into Your ways, wiser and kinder than ours, and the deep shalom of simply being with You here ... right here ... with us. And all the wayfarer's said, "Amen!"

Jennifer Rothschild: Amen!

Ann Voskamp: He is the God who is with us -- not a far off way, but he makes the way to us wherever we are, right here with us.