We're Not Alone in our Stories

Livin' What You're Given

Today, my guest, author and speaker Lori Ann Wood, discusses where her story of a divine detour has taken her and how sharing her story has helped other people. After discovering she had end-stage heart failure, she began to ask the questions of God that we are trained not to ask. This is a follow up to our original interview that took place on March 8, 2023 called, "Involuntary Tide Turning." Please feel free to go back and listen to that for more of her backstory.
Her journey began nine years ago and she says it has been up, down and anything but linear. During this time, she encountered so many faith questions as she found she was not the only person who was on a detour and had questions as well. She says people are looking for similarities and when we find that we are not alone, it becomes easier to bear life's difficulties and especially those detours we didn't plan on.
Lori Ann says she was afraid to ask questions because she was sure she would break the fragile faith base that was handed off to her from her mother. She was concerned that she would lose her faith if she got in, dug around and asked the hard questions about what was happening to her. She tiptoed into asking questions when she had nothing to share with blog subscribers, friends and family in terms of good news.
Quoting Romans 8:8 which says, "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them," she began to wonder if God was true to His word. She asked why she was seeing things in her life as not working out for what she considered to be to the good.
She asked questions like, "Is this all there is? And is God really good?" As she wrote her story and talked to others she began to hear others ask the same questions. Accepting that this situation did not make sense and she may not see problems resolved in this life helped her to move forward.
She wrote her book, "Divine Detour: The path you'd never choose can lead to the faith you've always wanted," in a short story format. That proved to be helpful to other people because when people are in pain and confusion, their attention span is very short, as was hers initially. People have reached out and said her story resonated and began to share stories in texts and emails. She now saw the burden was being made lighter (not taking difficulties away) for her and others. This gives people permission to ask and wrestle with their own questions.
Lori states that sharing stories of our lives and trials, we can trace the thread of God's grace throughout mankind's history. We are all in a bigger story than just our own lives. Our chapter in God's story is being used for a bigger purpose. Even though we may not get the ending we would like, Lori Ann emphasizes that the story does not end when we take our last breath.
To reach out to Lori Ann, find her books or other resources please go to https://loriannwood.com/
The website for Stephen Ray Watts and the band Dotsero https://dotseroband.com
The website to connect with Laura Padgett https://lauralpadgett.com