There are people we meet for a divine purpose—not just someone who crosses our path, but someone God wants us to meet. It’s as if there is an unseen plan unfolding to ensure that it happens. And when it does, time slows down.
Recently, my colleague Michelene, who works in the Guideposts Philanthropy department, experienced this while visiting a longtime supporter of the organization, Cindy. Although they had spoken on the phone and exchanged emails, it was their first time meeting in person.
They had a wonderful encounter, and when they were about to say their goodbyes, they exchanged business cards. At that moment, something clicked in Michelene—Cindy’s business card stated her maiden and married names. Michelene quickly realized that Cindy’s maiden name was the same as another man’s who had supported Guideposts, but who recently passed away. Michelene had had a great relationship with him.
When Michelene mentioned the coincidence of the names, it turned out the man was Cindy’s father. She started to cry and was thrilled to know that Michelene had known her father and spoken with him several times. They discovered they were both grieving the loss of a parent. Michelene’s mother had died in June and Cindy’s dad in December of the same year. Michelene recalled the day when Cindy’s brother called to let her know that his father had passed. The father had kept one of the note cards that she had sent him. Little did she know, Cindy was his sister.
The two women found comfort and strength in one another that day and shared their pain of losing a parent. They left the meeting feeling uplifted and inspired by their time together. And knowing it was no coincidence at all that they met. The Lord ordained their steps, allowing them to connect in a very special way. That day, they both felt as if their parents were smiling down on them from heaven. We never know who God will bring into our lives, but when it happens, it’s a divine connection!
The word “Lent” comes from an Old English word that refers to the lengthening of days, the coming of spring. That’s not how we usually think of it. Lent sounds like it should be dour and gray. A season of self-sacrifice and taking away. Think again. The meaning of Lent is about opening up. No matter what the weather is like, newness and new life are just outside the window. And in you.
Does every day feel the same? Does it feel like you’re in a rut? Is your prayer life the “same old, same old?” Welcome in Lent, this season of inner growth and spiritual sustenance. It’s there on the calendar for you to recharge. Recharge.
Give yourself a Lent goal
Sometimes we don’t even know what we want until we give it some focus. Until we write it down. Take out a pen and paper (okay, you can do it on your laptop too) and write a Lent plan. Put down some goals. Things you want for yourself in your spiritual life. Things you want for your loved ones. Don’t try to make it fancy. Just be honest. You’re the only one who’s going to see it. You and God.
It’s a curious moment. Those 40 days of Lent come just before Easter. We have a time of self-reflection before we launch into the celebration of the Resurrection and new life. But think about what we’re honoring. Those 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness were His preparation for a transforming ministry. When we give ourselves 40 days, we’re discovering the Jesus within us. Finding our time to share with Him.
Do something new
When we give up something for Lent—like chocolates or wine—we’re doing something sacrificial, not because it seems like a good idea but to give ourselves a reminder of how Jesus went on a 40-day fast. I remember when my wife gave up worry for Lent. Now there’s a challenge! It was terrifically hard, but every time she found her mind turn to worry, she had to turn to God for peace of mind and sustenance.
I’m afraid I spend a lot more time thinking about myself than I do about other people. I tell myself that it’s just what you have to do in this world. You know, looking out for number one. But shouldn’t number one be God? Jesus used that time in the wilderness—God used it—to face down the tempter. To say no. Putting Lent on your calendar is a way to re-focus and see where you need to say no. Fully explore the meaning of Lent.
It was the Spirit that sent Jesus into the wilderness in the first place. And Jesus by His actions makes sure the Spirit doesn’t leave Him. The Spirit is here to guide all of us to a life that is new and transformative. Let Lent put your focus there.
At the end of Jesus’s time in the wilderness, angels came and comforted Him. That angelic comfort is awaiting all of us at the end of our trials. Look for it. Welcome it. Invite the angels in. Lent is not just a time to say no. It is also a time to say yes.
To followers of Jesus, Easter is the most important day of the year…or should be. It’s the day we celebrate the central event of history, the moment when Jesus rose from the dead to make eternal life possible for human souls like you and me. What if we truly prepared for Easter this year? The Lent season is coming to an end. Now is the perfect time to focus on rebirth and new beginnings. The first Palm Sunday in the Bible and Palm Sunday Scriptures can guide us in approaching the coming resurrection celebration.
What if we prepared ourselves and our souls in meaningful ways, ways that can be found in the Biblical accounts of the days leading up to the first Resurrection Sunday? Here is what the first Palm Sunday in the Bible can teach us:
1. Luke 19: 29-31—Do What Jesus Says
Luke the historian records the first Palm Sunday, a week before the resurrection:
As [Jesus] approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it’” (Luke 19: 29-31, NIV).
Jesus sent two of His disciples on a strange little mission. We don’t know which two disciples went, nor do we know what they talked about on the way. But it wouldn’t be surprising if they wondered, “You really think we should just untie the colt and take it?” “You think the Master knows the owner?” “You think this is a test of some kind?” “What if somebody takes a swing at us?”
You see, we typically read the Bible like a play, as if all the characters knew the script. But they didn’t. And yet, whoever they were, those disciples did what Jesus said. And their simple obedience brought glory to God. The Bible says that shortly after they completed their mission, “the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices” (Luke 19:37, NIV).
That’s a good model for the week before Easter. We could do no better than to follow the example of those two unnamed disciples. Your obedience probably won’t involve a donkey. Only you and God know what it WILL involve. Is He calling you to repentance and faith in Him? Is He telling you to forgive someone? To help someone? To give something up? To say yes to something? To say no to something?
Whatever it is, you may be surprised—like the disciples Jesus sent to Bethphage—at how your simple act of obedience will bring glory to God.
Another part of the first Palm Sunday in the Bible clues us in to a second way to prepare for Easter:
As [Jesus] approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side…because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you” (Luke 19:41-44, NIV).
We tend to forget that this event was even part of the Triumphal Entry. We get caught up in the crowd, the shouts, the emotion, and excitement—while Jesus’ tears go unnoticed.
But apparently the crowds and the disciples didn’t pay much attention to His tears, either. Matthew didn’t record it. Mark didn’t mention it. Luke is the only writer to record this event.
The Greek word Luke used to say Jesus “wept” signifies more than tears; it suggests the kind of soul-wracking, gut-wrenching sobbing a person does at the tomb of a friend. It is the word used of Mary’s sobs at the tomb of her brother Lazarus, of Mary Magdalene’s sobs at Jesus’ tomb, and of Peter’s “bitter” weeping after he denied Jesus and heard the cock crow.
Jesus wept violently for the people of Jerusalem.
Not for Himself. Not for the cross that awaited Him. But for the fate that would come upon that city, when Roman armies would invade in 70 A.D., raze the city, destroy its glorious temple, and brutalize its rebellious people. Everyone else was having a party, and Jesus was filled with compassion for the lost sheep of Israel who didn’t even know their own sad condition.
That, too, is a good model. We could do no better than to prepare for Resurrection Sunday by letting ourselves feel what Jesus feels for those who are hurting, wandering, searching—those who don’t even know they’re searching. For lost sheep, many of whom don’t even know they’re lost sheep.
3. Matthew 21:10-11—Tell Who Jesus Is
Matthew’s Gospel concludes the story:
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?” The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee” (Matthew 21:10-11, NIV).
When Matthew reports that the city was “stirred,” he uses the word, seio, from which we get our word “seismic.” It’s the same word he used later in his Gospel when he said that at the moment Jesus died on the cross, “The earth shook and the rocks split” (Matthew 27:51, NIV).
The city was stirred as an earthquake “stirs” the ground.
Isn’t that what needs to happen in your community this Easter: to be stirred? Isn’t that what your community is longing for? Waiting for? To see if the people who fill the churches and sing Jesus’ praises really know Him? To fulfill the promise of the first Palm Sunday in the Bible?
To prepare for Resurrection Sunday, tell who Jesus is. Find ways to share with friends, neighbors, family members, classmates, coworkers—anyone for whom we can feel what Jesus feels—the news that we proclaim on Easter Sunday, in the age-old confession of the church: “He is risen, he is risen indeed!”
More Palm Sunday Scripture
Use these 12 more Palm Sunday Scriptures to kick off your faith journey through Holy Week.
Reading Bible verses that get to the very heart of Palm Sunday can help us feel more connected to the biblical story. Reflect on this Scripture as you pray or meditate on Palm Sunday, whether you are doing it alone or with friends and family. In addition to thinking about the original story of Jesus’ arrival to Jerusalem, share what these verses mean to you in your life right now.
The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!” —John 12:12-13
Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord. —Psalm 31:24
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. —John 3:16
When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” —Luke 19:37-38
Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs. —Proverbs 10:12
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you. The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine on us. —Psalms 118:26-27
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. —Act 4:32-34
We love because He first loved us. —1 John 4:19
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. —Psalm 92:12-13
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. —Romans 5:8
Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. Whoever walks in the dark does not know where they are going. Believe in the light while you have the light, so that you may become children of light.” —John 12:35-36
You are my God, and I will praise you; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever. —Psalm 118:28-29
Most of us want to be a person of courage. Too often we think that it’s only those in high and important positions who can truly practice it, but each day offers us a chance. Poet Maya Angelou said, “Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.”
Courage is the strength to do something even if you are afraid. To stand up against the opposition even when you are the only one. To do what is right even if the consequences are severe.
Courage is what an ordinary woman, Rosa Parks, displayed in 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, when she refused to give up her bus seat to a white man. Her courage and subsequent arrest launched the Montgomery bus boycott and became an historical moment in the civil rights movement. While most of us might not find ourselves in a position like Rosa Parks—we can all be strong and courageous in the face of life’s pressing circumstances.
For example, I will never forget the courage of a young mother I prayed with in the hospital. She was battling terminal cancer and refused to give up for the sake of her small children. She fought hard until the end.
Or, at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in New York, my friend, a nurse who pushed through her fears to care for the infected. Every day she stepped into the danger zone where patients struggled to live.
And then there was the small business owner I knew who became depressed and had a hard time managing his business. But every day he found the courage to get up from his bed, pray and read his handwritten note listing all the good things in his life.
Author Mary Anne Rademacher writes, “Courage does not always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’”
When all is said and done, each of us can be a person of courage—now more than ever.
Ever have a premonition? One that wakes you up in the middle of the night? They don’t happen to me very often, but Monday morning I woke up at 4 a.m. in the pre-dawn darkness with a very clear premonition.
“Something is going to happen at the 48th Street subway station,” I thought. What it was I couldn’t tell. But I had a very clear vision of the station at Rockefeller Center and my presence there.
I don’t pass through that station on my way to work. Don’t normally take the subway lines that go that way. “Maybe I’m going to have to make an emergency visit to my cardiologist,” I thought.
He has an office near there on 50th Street. But I never see him at that address. He’s usually at the office at 168th Street.
My mind rushed to dark places–as it can do in pre-dawn hours. Would there be some sort of terrorist attack at 48th Street? Should I alert the authorities?
I tossed and turned, left it in God’s hands, and managed to fall back asleep. I woke up at my usual time, 6 a.m., sat on the sofa to pray. After the usual 20 minutes I got up, did my stretches and went for a short run.
The premonition was still there, although muted in the daylight. Something was going to happen involving me at the 48th Street station. Why would I be there? Our office was downtown, nowhere near.
I came back inside. Put my oatmeal on the stove. Had a square from a chocolate bar–my breakfast treat–and munched on a banana.
At once I felt something hard in my mouth. A big crown had come off one of my back molars and it was mixed in the banana. I spit it out and washed it off.
I called up my dentist’s office. A crown had fallen out. Could I come in right away? Yes, yes, they said. “We’ll see you at 9:45.”
I took my shower. Checked my emails. Dashed off. I took the A train as usual but then changed to the B train and headed to Rockefeller Center.
I got out at 48th Street and walked to the dentist’s office. He put my crown back in.
I found myself humming “Crown Him With Many Crowns.” All turned out fine. Yes, my premonition proved true, but not nearly as scary as I thought. “Crown Him with Many Crowns” seemed just the right song to sing. At 48th Street in the morning.
Lent is a season of spiritual growth and change. So it might help to look at it through God’s rainbow of colors. In particular, five hues are associated with this holy time of year on the liturgical calendar. The five Lent colors are:
Green
Purple
Blue
Yellow
Red
But what do these colors mean? How can we think about them as we move through our Lenten journey, and how can they help us better understand the meaning of Lent?
The very word “Lent” means spring and as the cool of winter fades, we look for all the green signs that the season of hope and redemption is at hand. The grass comes up, the leaves slowly burst forth on the trees. Bulbs that we planted in the fall, digging deep into the earth, push up and show their true colors. As you pray in Lent, you are looking to be fertilized and watered with God’s purifying love. You’re not green with envy; you’re green with new life. May it come.
Purple has always been the liturgical color associated with Lent, when ministers of God wear purple vestments and the altars where we worship are often decorated with purple cloth. Purple has long been the color linked with royalty and nobility. Why? Because it was especially expensive to produce, made from thousands of mollusk shells. Only the rich could afford it. If the kings could wear it, shouldn’t it be appropriate for the King of Kings?
God came down to Earth and was reborn in Jesus as we become reborn in Him. Purple then becomes a link to what God put in our reach. We all deserve the purple, crowning ourselves with God’s infinite love.
3. Blue: Reflection
Lent is a time of deep reflection. When we offer ourselves up to the Lord in contemplative prayer, it is common to tap into sorrow and sometimes painful memories. We see our dark side. We remember our losses. We can be smitten with unexpected sadness. We find ourselves singing “the blues,” literally. But that very process is a letting go. We feel God’s forgiveness. The very singing of the blues becomes a way of healing. The clouds disappear. The blue skies open up. The air shimmers. Blue becomes crystal clear vision.
We are nothing without the warmth and golden light of the sun, waking us up in the morning, following us through the day, dropping over the horizon at day’s end, God with us always. Yellow is that God-given hue that when mixed with blue forms green or mixed with red becomes orange. It is the very light within.
In our Lenten meditations we stop whatever we are doing at different times during the day and connect directly to God who is always there to connect to us. Like the sun. There’s nothing soft about yellow. It is strong, life-giving, life-sustaining. With Lent you see how each moment is golden, not to be missed.
Red is often the color associated with martyrs of the faith, those who gave their life over to the Lord. Red can symbolize the Passion of our Lord who gave His life for us and is often used on Palm Sunday. Later it invariably marks the feast day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came down and filled Jesus’s followers as it fills us, giving us the power and strength to do what we might never have thought we could do.
Red is the color of the stop sign or that red light that made you halt. Like you halted for the 40 days of Lent. But it was only to remember what was and is most important in life. True red-letter days. May each day bring you the colors of your true Self.
No matter how you celebrate this Lent—whether you are giving something up, growing closer to God through Lenten prayers, or making the time to celebrate Lent as a family—think about the meaning behind these Lent colors. As you see the trees bud with green, think about new life. When you see the purple vestments at church, pray about God’s love. As you gaze up to the blue, spring sky, reflect on your progress this Lenten season. Do your Lenten prayers or meditations under the yellow light of the morning sun. If you see the color red throughout you day, take a second to think about the most important things in your life. How can you include all the Lent colors in your celebrations and prayers?
Media executive Ron King, who spent 20 years working for magazines like InStyle, Essence and Southern Living, didn’t expect to retire at 51. But the plight of donkeys captured his imagination and his heart. He read about the world’s donkey population declining due to the high demand for their hides. Then he moved out west and met a woman who was rescuing donkeys from slaughterhouses. It was a sign. That’s when he decided to end his publishing career and commit himself to saving these animals.
Ron teamed up with a long-time friend to open Oscar’s Place, a donkey adoption center and sanctuary in Hopland, California. The nonprofit foundation saves donkeys from auction houses and rehabilitates them physically, mentally and emotionally before helping them find forever homes. As for Ron, he’s found a home too and has never looked back.
How did Oscar’s Place come to be?
My friend Phil Selway, a pop art dealer and philanthropist who owns the property, had set up a philanthropic foundation designed for animal welfare but hadn’t yet activated it with any specific cause. I left my position as senior vice president at Time Inc. during the pandemic and moved to California, where I spent a lot of time thinking about the value of peace, serenity and joy.
I met a woman who was rescuing donkeys from slaughterhouses but had nowhere to take them. I wrote a business plan for Phil that detailed operating a sanctuary here, and he was more than happy to jump on board.
Our first five donkeys arrived from slaughterhouses on December 5, 2020. We officially launched as Oscar’s Place on January 1, 2021. Three days later, the next 25 donkeys arrived. We have another 30 that will be on their way after a month of quarantine with an equine rescue organization we now work with called All Seated in a Barn.
How did you come up with the name?
Phil had a cat that passed away a few years ago named Oscar that meant a lot to him. He knew that whatever foundation he would set up would be named after him. So we’re saving donkeys at a place named after a cat!
Why donkeys?
I read an article in The Guardian about the donkey population decreasing—they’re being rounded up and slaughtered—due to a popular traditional Chinese remedy for insomnia that requires donkey hide. There are so many misconceptions about donkeys. Although people think they’re small horses, donkeys are actually way more doglike than horselike. They’re very personable and intelligent. The emotional part of a donkey’s brain is the same size as the emotional part of a human’s brain, so they form very strong bonds with each other and with their human caretakers.
What does rehabilitation entail at Oscar’s Place?
The folks at All Seated in a Barn rescue the donkeys and properly quarantine them, providing them with veterinary care. Then they’re transferred to Oscar’s Place. Vets continue to treat any further medical needs at the sanctuary.
To improve the donkeys’ emotional well-being, all employees and volunteers spend 50 percent of their day being hands-on with them. Whether it’s grooming, halter training, walking or just sitting on a bench with them until they trust us enough to eat a carrot out of our hands, we’re showing the donkeys that, despite what they’ve been through, humans are on their side.
Who adopts the donkeys once they’re healed?
Donkeys are adopted out to people who have herds of animals such as cows, goats or sheep. Donkeys are great herd protectors thanks to their intelligence, loud bray and hips that allow them to kick sideways and backwards. Although they’re in high demand, we don’t adopt out donkeys to petting zoos.
We don’t adopt out donkeys until they’re ready. We have a thorough vetting process that includes site visits. When we find good applicants, we place them on our waiting list and once the donkeys are ready, we rehome them.
How long do donkeys stay at Oscar’s Place?
Four to six months is a good time frame to get to know them and bring them back to good health—emotionally and physically. We have some donkeys that have had very difficult lives and haven’t made a breakthrough yet. They’ll stay here as long as they need to.
Tell us about some donkeys that are currently at the sanctuary.
Curley, who was rescued from a slaughterhouse, has been here since January and would not let us touch him. We spent time with him every day, feeding him carrots, which he took reluctantly. One day, for the first time in four months, he didn’t run when I reached out to him. He made the decision to trust us after finally realizing that we weren’t here to hurt him. We’ll continue to work with him and eventually find him a home.
Felix, who is so loving, arrived with pneumonia and was hospitalized at UC Davis Veterinary Hospital for two weeks. We were told he wasn’t going to make it, but this dude fought his way through.
Why is Oscar’s Place so important to you?
My life has always been centered around having a positive impact—first on myself, then on my community and now on animals. All of these donkeys were destined for death. Given their rough start and the fact that they didn’t deserve it, I’m now dedicated to helping them live the best life possible.
How can people help donkeys?
They can support donkeys by becoming more educated on what products use donkey hide (and not buying them), providing financial assistance to a charity like Oscar’s Place or adopting donkeys if they have the facilities to do so.
What kind of impact has Oscar’s Place had on everyone involved?
The impact on both the people and the animals is unbelievable. The job that my team does is not easy, but it’s very clear how much they’re helping these donkeys. And it brings all of us so much joy. It doesn’t actually feel like work at all.
Along with Rick Hamlin and Amy Wong, I was in Portland, Oregon, conducting one of our refresher workshops for graduates of our Writers Workshop program. The big workshop is held every other year in Rye, New York.
We choose 15 aspiring inspirational writers from thousands of entrants and teach them everything we know about writing inspirational stories. They then become part of what I call Guideposts workshop nation. There are scores of trained and talented workshoppers all over the country keeping their eyes and ears out for compelling and uplifting personal stories of hope, faith and inspiration.
Where do our stories come from? I am often asked. Well, a lot of them come from our incredibly dedicated workshoppers. So periodically we hold mini-workshops where each writer brings a story she is working on and we spend a day or so going over them and asking questions like, How does the narrator of the story change? What is the spiritual turnaround and takeaway? Where is the help for the reader?
I love talking about stories. Stories, especially inspirational stories, are how we reveal and define ourselves. Our stories are a record of our spiritual growth. They are the very essence of who we are, the legacy of our journey in life. So spending a weekend talking about stories and how to write them is exhilarating. I get so much energy from our workshoppers. They are an incredible group of people and I want you to know how much they contribute to the vitality of the magazines you love.
It wasn’t all work, though. I flew out to Portland early on Friday so I would have time for a long hike in the mountains above the Columbia River valley. I took a six-mile route through the woods that brought me past 10 waterfalls. It was an amazingly beautiful day. And I have to confess it is the reason I didn’t get my blog written until this morning. Sorry about that. But hey…
Some of you are probably wondering when the next Guideposts Writers Workshop contest is. We’ll be asking for entries in a little less than a year from now for the 2012 workshop in Rye. Watch for the announcement in Guideposts and Angels on Earth magazines. It’s not too early to start thinking about what your inspirational story is. As I’ve said so many times, everybody has a Guideposts story. What’s yours?
Springtime in the mountains of North Carolina is a delight. After a long and cold winter, those first few days of warmth just make a body feel good. I always know that spring is on its way when I see the first tender green shoots of the weeping willows in the meadow behind my home. That makes me smile because I know that in a week or two, I’ll see those long limbs of green swaying in the breeze like a grandmother’s shawl–fresh new life where bare branches were just weeks before.
Daffodils and tulips are usually the next to arrive, tiny bursts of color that are extra welcome after winter’s bleak landscape. Each morning I notice the changes from the day or week before—cheery yellow forsythia, pink azaleas and purple rhododendron blossoms. And when the dogwoods bloom, it looks as if the woods are filled with white lace. Oh my, God’s handiwork is spectacular!
Besides bringing joy and color to our lives, spring is a beautiful example of how God begins a new work in us as well. Here’s what God says:
Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert. (Isaiah 43:19)
Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God. (Psalm 92:13)
Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them. (Isaiah 42:9)
For as the earth brings forth its bud, As the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring forth, So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations. (Isaiah 61:11)
Pray this with me: Father, thank you for the new things you send that spring forth in my life. Help me to blossom into something of beauty for you. Amen.
John Carter Cash is the only child of two country music icons— Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash. As a Grammy award-winning singer and songwriter in his own right, as well as a producer and author, Cash is committed to continuing and expanding his parent’s legacy. Christian publisher DaySpring, in partnership with The John R. Cash Revocable Trust, released Walking the Line, a new, 90-day devotional that highlights the inspiring faith of Johnny Cash.
Guideposts.org sat down with John Carter Cash to discuss what “walking the line” meant to his father and why his story of faith still resonates today.
GP: What role did faith play in your father’s life?
John Carter Cash: For Dad, faith was essential. He was introduced to faith when he was a young man in church. He had a deep faith in God and a great love for the scriptures.
Life was tragic in many ways for him. His brother, Jack, died at age 14 when my father was only 12 years old. He dealt with a lot of physical infirmity later in his life. The loss of my mother [in 2003 at age 73] was something he never really overcame. Yet he would not hold anger towards God. For him, the very nature of faith was there to carry him through to the other side. Even if he lacked belief, even if he had fear. He learned to appreciate faith as something that endures, something that would not go away. He never gave up on the belief in something else, something further, something beautiful in life.
GP: What faith lessons did your father teach you?
Cash: Dad showed me that once you establish salvation, it can never be taken away. It’s a gift that you are given based on grace. Faith is something that I go back to at different times in my life—whether I’m struggling or feeling positive about life—because I can rest in the safety of knowing that salvation is in place. It helps my faith to grow daily and gives me hope when there are struggles.
He also taught me the importance of being a good person. The kind of person that is there to support people. Faith is taking a step forward for somebody in their life.
GP: What are some of your most cherished memories with your father?
John Carter Cash (photo by David McClister)
Cash: I remember the one-on-one time that we had, like the time that we spent outdoors. We fished a lot. I also remember the times that we were creative. We wrote two songs together and played onstage with each other. A lot of the time we spent together was on a tour bus, traveling city to city, town to town… 27 years of my life, I was working on the road with my parents. It’s the times of togetherness I remember most. I’m grateful for that, because you can’t miss out on those things.
GP: Can you remember moments in your life when you saw your father’s faith in action?
Cash: I saw it in his music. I remember him being in the recording studio four days after my mother passed away. He was moving forward in his life and doing what he believed she would want him to do. It wasn’t about winning a Grammy or creating some highly respected work. It was about continuing to be creative because that was its own reward. If you don’t have faith, you don’t have drive. If you don’t have belief in something better to come, then you don’t have hope. And even though Dad may have felt hopeless some days, he still put into action his creativity.
GP: How do you feel music can strengthen our faith? And how did it strengthen your father’s faith?
Cash: Music can be a reprieve from bearing our own weight. It can be a catharsis. Music can lift us in ways that we didn’t expect. It’s healing. It can be a tool to bring us back to a memory that we need to reexperience.
My father lost his eyesight toward the end of his life, but he still had the songs of his youth. When he couldn’t feel much else, when all he could feel was sadness after my mother passed away, he always went back to music. To Dad, music was hope.
GP: A big part of your father’s faith was speaking out against injustices. Why was this such an important aspect of his faith?
Cash: Dad grew up in poverty. He worked in the cotton fields. Before he got into music, he was a Morse code interceptor in the Air Force. Dad knew what it was like to be looked down on. He had true empathy. He could put himself in the place of people who were going through hardships and be their brother, instead of a judge or a preacher. For him, it was about kinship.
That’s why he spoke out against injustices done to Native Americans. Dad saw the plight of the Native Americans in South Dakota and Pine Ridge Reservation in the 1960s. He listened to the words of Peter La Farge, a Native poet and songwriter. He took that on as his own banner. There are people no one is paying attention to, who aren’t being protected and defended, who need a champion. It’s not necessarily Johnny Cash, but there’s a lot to glean from the way that Dad helped people in need.
GP: “Walk the Line” is one of your father’s most famous songs. It is the inspiration for the title of the new devotional, Walking the Line. What did “walking the line” mean to your father?
Cash: Dad wrote the song originally as a promise to his first wife when he was on the road. But later in his life, he redefined the song to himself. He said that “walking the line” was about his relationship with God. It’s about focusing on your path, looking toward your destination, and staying true to what you believe in. And if you fall short, a reminder to get back on the path.
Living the straight and narrow all the time is not something that we can do. My dad would be the first to say that he fell short many times. He had a devil on his back. As a human, sometimes he won, sometimes he struggled and failed. I saw him fall short in life, but I also saw him go back to it. “Walking the line” became a way for my dad to remember to get back on the path.
GP: Why do you think it is still so important to share your father’s story of faith?
Cash: For me, it’s the 16-year-old kid that sends me an email saying, “I was at the end of my rope. If it wasn’t for your father and his music, I would be dead. His words saved my life.” I still see how important he is to people and that so many people out there have their own unique relationship with his music. People find connection with him because of his willingness to show his weakness. I hope they find a kindship with my father, a friendship— I want to be supportive of that. Dad has a lot more to say.
The devotional Walking the Line: 90 Devotions of Truth & Hope Based on the Faith of Johnny Cash is available through DaySpring.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity and length.
These past few weeks since my wife, Julee, passed I feel as if I have been walking in grace with the outpouring of your prayers and compassion. Each day I feel your empathy and your love lifting me up on this daily journey, a journey I know so many of you have walked. I feel as if you are helping me follow in your footsteps from darkness to light and acceptance by sharing your experience, strength and hope.
Isn’t that what walking in grace is all about? Sharing our daily journey in faith. For years we have produced a popular book of devotions, Daily Guideposts, 365 story-based devotions produced by a group of faithful writers many of you say have come to feel like family to you. As one of those longtime writers, I can attest to that feeling. You are more like a family than an audience.
After much discussion, research and prayer we have changed the title of Daily Guideposts to Walking in Grace. The title is the only thing that has changed. You will still enjoy the short personal stories of faith-in-action by a family of writers you have come to know and love. Each devotion starts with a Bible quote, just as before, and ends with a personal prayer that you can apply to your own life—an opportunity to dig deeper into the spiritual lesson of the devotion. As in everything we do, the devotions are story-driven so that you can better identify with the author’s problems, spiritual solutions and triumphs, so you can put yourself in the writer’s shoes and share their walk in grace.
When we launched Daily Guideposts some 47 years ago it was virtually the only other publication we had apart from Guideposts magazine. So, the title made sense. Today we have a several devotional books as well as our website and social media pages and apps. There are plenty of ways to engage with the content you love daily.
Years ago, I had to be talked into writing for Daily Guideposts. It’s a long story but eventually it was the embrace of you, the audience, that kept me writing even to this day. Writing devotions opened my eyes to God’s daily presence in my life, to His abiding and often unexpected grace in my walk of faith.
There was no mistaking the excitement in my father’s voice. “I saw an abandoned Studebaker in the woods where I grew up,” he told me over the phone. “It’s the same truck I rode in when I was a boy. I was hoping you could photograph it for me.”
I took a deep breath, hoping Dad wouldn’t sense my reluctance.
“Studebaker” by Lisa Faire Graham
It had been more than a year since I’d had surgery to repair the detached retina in my left eye, but I still couldn’t see clearly. Things were fuzzy, indistinct, like what a nearsighted person sees without glasses. Not the sharp vision I needed to pursue my retirement dream of being an artistic photographer, the kind whose work gets published in photography magazines.
My passion was shooting high-definition, crystal-clear images that reveal the hidden beauty in everyday objects, the beauty I’d believed God wanted me to uncover. I knew both my parents wanted to encourage me, but no amount of encouragement was going to change the fact that even through my camera’s viewfinder, I couldn’t make out details well enough to focus and frame a shot properly. I hadn’t even wanted to pick up a camera lately.
Still, I didn’t have the heart to tell Dad no. “Sure, I’ll photograph the Studebaker,” I said. Maybe with a subject as big as a truck, I’d be able to pull off something. Was God giving me another chance? Or was he going to ask me to give up my dream?
My problems had started in 2005, with a retinal detachment in my right eye. Even after surgery, my vision in that eye was limited. Fortunately, with my “good” left eye, I could still do my job in the defense industry and take photos for fun. I retired in 2012, excited at last to dive into photography in a big way. My husband, Bill, was thrilled for me.
I’d loved taking pictures since my parents gave me my first camera, an Instamatic, at age 10. When I was 14, my friend Sandi taught me to how to be a photographer. She owned a 35mm camera, and even as a teenager she had photographed weddings and special events in our small Florida hometown.
She loaned me her Pentax and gave me suggestions on composition, settings and technique while we walked around the neighborhood. One day, she directed me to take photos of an old fence post.
“I’m not wasting film on that,” I said to her.
“Shoot it,” she said. “It’s my camera.”
Only when the prints came back was I able to see what Sandi had seen. The weathered grooves in the wood, the climbing ivy, even the bugs crawling over the surface… The tiniest details jumped out at me. Amazing! It gave me the shivers in a good way, like learning in Sunday school that God delighted in every detail of our lives.
“You’ve passed that fence post hundreds of times,” Sandi said. “Photography is about having an eye for things most people miss.”
In retirement, I finally had time to devote to photography again. I subscribed to photography magazines and admired the artistry and crispness of the images. “I want to have a photo published in one of those magazines someday,” I said to Bill.
“Go for it!” he said.
Bill, my mom and I went on a 200-mile trek around the small towns of central Florida, where we’d grown up. Bill is a general contractor who’s great at noticing interesting details in the built environment. I spent days capturing images of handmade brick roads near Espanola, sand pines and palmettos in the Ocala National Forest, the orange groves heavy with fruit, the car ferry at the St. John’s River.
Sandi died in 2014. I spoke at her memorial service about how she’d inspired me to look for the beauty in the ordinary. Her death reminded me that life is precious and made me even more motivated in my photography.
Less than a year later, the retina in my left eye detached and I had emergency surgery. I was terrified that I would end up near blind. I begged God to save my vision.
When the eye patch came off and I could see, Bill and my parents rejoiced with me. But as several months passed and the fuzziness in my vision, both near and far, didn’t clear up, the joy leaked out of me. Mom reminded me the doctor had said healing could take up to six months.
I couldn’t wait that long. I had to try using my camera. Bill took me to one of my favorite spots, a beach on Lake Minneola. The late-afternoon sun was soft, highlighting the planks of the old dock. I tried to compensate for my blurry vision by adjusting my camera’s diopter. But when I uploaded the photos to my computer, I had to enlarge them 70 percent just to make out what I had shot. The images were a letdown—not crisp at all.
The same thing happened on subsequent shoots. I’d read in my magazines about editing software, how it could be used to deepen or lighten colors, remove shadows, change almost anything about a photo. Surely there was a way to make the images razor sharp. To give them exquisite detail that jumped off the pages. I’d used computers most of my career. I figured I could teach myself how to use the software.
It was harder than I’d imagined. After watching hours of instructional videos, I could do a passable job of “painting” a photo a new color, but sharpening the image? I wasn’t happy with anything I tried.
One day, I decided to work on a photo I’d shot years earlier of an antique typewriter. I hadn’t used a flash, and the lighting was poor. On my computer, I increased the brightness and added an oil paint effect.
“That’s so cool,” Bill said. “It looks like it’s on fire.”
“But it’s not photography!” I said, unable to contain my frustration. “I want to shoot photos that are sharp, like I used to. To document God’s hand at work.” I’d passed the six-month post-surgical mark by then, and my doctor had said my visual acuity was the best it was going to get.
Maybe God was telling me to be thankful for the healing I’d been granted and to move on. Maybe it was time for me to accept that my dream was dead. I didn’t touch the photo-editing program for months. My camera sat unused in its bag. Then came Dad’s call about the Studebaker.
The rusted-out truck, its oversize tire shields mired in mud, sat far back in the woods, covered in vines. I stomped around the tall swampy grass, swatting mosquitos, shooting from every angle imaginable. The deep shade made the lighting tricky, but it felt good to be doing something creative again.
I went home and reviewed the shoot on my computer. My heart sank. I’d taken 300 photos, and every single one had problems. Strange shadows. Images out of focus. Awkward angles. I’d made a total mess of it. That’s it, I thought. I’m finished.
When I told Bill about my disappointing results, he said, “What if you tried something like what you did with that typewriter photo? I bet that would look amazing!”
Bill just didn’t get it. I pointed to my stack of photography magazines. “I want to shoot crisp, clear photos, like the ones in those,” I said. “Out of 300 shots, I ought to be able to get one right.”
Bill gazed at me for a long moment. “Why are you trying to make your work look like someone else’s?” he said. “God has given you a chance to do something original, to express your creativity. Reframe your limitations. Look at this in a different light.”
Here was a message I could understand. Landscape photographers return to the same location numerous times because variations in light can give an image a completely different look and feel. There are countless ways to capture a single subject. Why had I thought there was only one way for me to be a photographer?
I went back to learning editing software, experimenting with different effects until it became second nature. Bill suggested I print the typewriter photo on metal instead of canvas, adding a whole new layer of expression to it. That photo won second place in a state competition.
I chose the photo of the Studebaker I liked most and enhanced it, adding more color, vibrancy and texture, playing with the light to bring out the green in the vines, while allowing the truck itself to stay in softer focus. The effect was dreamlike. Definitely one of a kind. And beautiful in a way I would never have seen or appreciated before. Dad loved it. It seemed as if everyone who saw it knew of another old car for me to photograph. Bill and I started going on photo treks again, working as a team. I’ve got the creative vision; Bill sees details I miss.
My photos have been displayed in galleries, prestigious art festivals, municipal buildings, even the Florida Museum of Photographic Arts. I’ve won competitions and seen my work published in magazines. More recognition than I’d ever expected.
For Father’s Day, I presented my dad with a photo of the Studebaker printed on wood. At the bottom of the image is a verse from Ephesians: “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” One of my favorite Scriptures because it explains how my dream has been fulfilled and then some. My vision may be limited, but God’s never is.
For more inspiring stories, subscribe to Guidepostsmagazine.
How did Oscar’s Place come to be?
Why donkeys?
Why is Oscar’s Place so important to you?
