It was a hot west Texas day in Amarillo, and I was going to be teaching at a writers’ conference. I came in a day earlier to “play” with a writer friend, Deborah Elliott-Upton, who I’d met a couple years earlier at the same conference. We had hit it off right away the first time, and I was looking forward to seeing Deborah’s Amarillo. Of course the nearby Cadillac Ranch was on the list!
But Deborah also stepped out in faith, and asked if I’d want to see the 190-foot-tall cross and life-sized Stations of the Cross figures not far away in Groom. Now, she knew I had left my husband, and hadn’t been churched for decades. Yet moved by the Holy Spirit, she asked anyway. I didn’t know why at that point, but I said yes. There was something profoundly spiritual about being in that space, so quiet and so beautiful in its spareness. It wasn’t long after that that I began feeling the rekindling of faith in my heart and soul.
Time and distance have kept Deborah and me apart physically (something I hope changes in the coming year!) but she will always be an important part of my spiritual journey. She reminds me to extend Christ’s invitation, whether or not it’s immediately accepted.
Who’s inspiring your faith journey?
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