The Story Behind The Story
Like most things in life, there’s usually a story behind the story. Sometimes that story never gets told. Other times, bits and pieces surface years later.
Sometimes this is the crux of the matter. We don’t always know the blood, sweat, and tears poured into a story: the reason why the successful executive left their job, the beginning pains of the non-profit, the novel that stirs your soul to weep.
We simply get to see the glossy front and witness the finished product.
As I recently shared in my newsletter, my husband, Tim, just released his new book, The Beauty Chasers. It’s his fourth book release but somehow this one feels different to me. Why? Because our family was so much a part of the journey.
This is my story behind the story of The Beauty Chasers. And I’d love to tell it.
It began with a conversation in our house in Atlanta in the year of 2012. (The picture above was taken one year after we moved to Oxford). We were three pixies deep with my youngest one quite adept at middle of the night nursing calls. I was running ragged.
Meanwhile, my wild man was seeking the next step to his schooling. It looked like we were headed to New England for him to pursue a Doctorate of Ministry (D.Min.). As much as I couldn’t wrap my head around a move in the midst of these young years, I listened to Tim’s passion. But then the door closed for that move.
And so I thought that was the end of it. I breathed a silent sigh of relief. The thought of moving to New England from Atlanta with a newborn and two other young pixies felt a bit overwhelming at the time.
I just wanted three straight hours of sleep.
But Tim wouldn’t let the quiet urgings from the Spirit go. He felt the calling of God to pursue deeper studies and knew there was more. He had recently finished up his M.A. in Christian Thought by commuting to Gordon-Conwell from Atlanta to Charlotte.
His love of study fueled his acknowledgment of how little he truly knew. And how much more he wanted to learn. I loved this because when I met Tim ten years earlier, I was in the last year of earning my own Seminary degree in Theology.
I remember the day like it was yesterday when he stumbled upon Alister McGrath’s invitation to take students interested in studying C.S. Lewis for doctoral work. Tim’s enthusiasm was contagious. “Alister McGrath is accepting invitations to do PhD work in Chesterton or Lewis! I think I may apply.”
Tim was assured this was a remote degree so we could stay stateside. This made me jump for joy.
We didn’t have to move!
Tim could continue his PhD work and I could focus on this newborn stage of mothering my youngest.
But the Lord has a sense of humor, and I laugh now (but didn’t so much then) when one morning Tim came to me and said, “There was a bit of confusion with the PhD residency requirements. We have to move to England.”
I’m honestly not sure what my first initial response was. Perhaps I laughed out loud. Maybe I got irritated and insisted we couldn’t move. I do know that in the weeks after that, I was on a course of disbelief.
There was no way our young family of five could move in less than a year to England.
And yet, I knew this was what Tim felt strongly the Lord was asking us to do.
He was accepted by Alister into the PhD program at Kings College London with a focus on studying Beauty as an Apologetic in the works of C.S. Lewis.
And so I prayed. And prayed. And prayed some more.
I asked the Lord to reveal the way … if this was truly the path God had for our family, please, Lord, change my heart. I asked for agreement, that I would be united with Tim and his vision and all that the Lord was asking of our family.
And slowly, my heart began to change.
So much so, that if our move to England wouldn’t have happened I would have been severely disappointed.
We learned so much during our time in England. Not one sphere of our life was left untouched. The beauty of that time continues to leave a legacy in our days here post Oxford. We lovingly refer to this mode of life as our “Oxford Rhythm”.
This is just the beginning of the story. There are so many twists and turns that I will be sharing this month for paid subscribers to Mend. I’m looking back at intimate details of our journey to Oxford and how it changed us as a family. We will study together what faith sometimes looks like and the beauty of chasing brave.
"We have to be braver than we think we can be, because God is constantly calling us to be more than we are."
I read Madeleine L'Engle's words in Walking on Water while meeting for my last book club of Oxford. The truth of her words continue to haunt me today. He is always calling us to more. Further up. Further in.
I've come to like brave. It forces me to have a direct line to God, down on my knees and pouring through the Word. This is what we will focus on this month in the devotional: knowing the path to take when things seem unclear, chasing beauty, and slowing our pace enough to see.
This is the story behind The Beauty Chasers as seen through my eyes, and I’d love to share it with you.
Join us this month in the devotional paid subscription to Mend. We’d love to have you there. You’ll receive 2-3 weekly devotionals, this month focusing on the story behind the story. Just click the annual or monthly subscription. Here’s to chasing beauty.