If, like me, you’ve had a complicated relationship with hope, then I want you to meet someone.
Liz Kelly Stanchina is the embodiment of hope in all of its grave and shining glory. Hers is not the fluffy, saccharine, or striving kind of hope; there’s no white-knuckling or denial of reality in her writing. Liz looks tragedy in the face and smiles with a sparkle in her eye, because she knows what her God can do. After all, He’s done it before.
Liz is a woman who has walked through some of life’s most painful and purifying fires and come out on the other side with a message for those still fumbling through—there is hope for you too.
And she’s so convinced of this truth that she wrote a book on it. Our new Advent devotional, A Thrill of Hope, aims to help you welcome the virtue of hope with wild abandon and become an unabashedly joyful bearer of hope for a hurting world.
But I’ll let her tell you more.
Beth: When we first talked about the theme of hope for our new Advent devotional, you lit up. Not everyone feels that way about hope. Can you tell us why you wanted to write about it?
Liz: You might remember that when we first started talking about this, I was still having chemo for my second round of breast cancer. So, I was still in the throes of that trial and suffering quite a lot of bone pain, but it was because of that trial that my hope was renewed! I was learning so much about hope as a result of being sick. There’s just nothing like suffering to open your heart to receive God’s graces. Suffering helps us to throw open wide the door to our hearts and let the Lord march right on in and stake His territory. He did that on a whole new level with me in this most recent trial and I was thrilled to write about it.
Journey to Hope
Beth: Every time I read the introduction to the devotional (now dozens of times) I am renewed in my desire to pray for and cultivate the virtue of hope. You write that your hope has been a pure gift to you—one which you’re now generously sharing with us. Can you tell us a bit about your journey with hope? Has it always come so naturally?
Liz: Oh no! Definitely not! As a younger person, I struggled mightily to hope. I was a full-on negativity addict, a kind of martyr-victim personality. I cringe when I think about what I put my parents and friends through. It’s not uncommon to struggle with one of the theological virtues more than the others. It becomes a kind of life’s work to mend that wound—with either faith, hope, or love—and in my early life, my hope was sorely wounded.
There’s a long story behind how I got there, but I had one really big breakthrough moment in my late twenties when I clearly saw the evil at work in me, binding me to hopelessness, and I took a major leap forward once I realized what hopelessness was costing me. It was a lie I was living out as though it were true, and it cost me dearly. That clarity launched a whole new life for me.
Over the years I was really, totally, and fully healed of that misery addiction. And not only healed, but restored! So much of what was lost has been restored and then some. And the Lord continues to heal it and strengthen it. I think of Psalm 63; my life has been a rich and satisfying feast! Even the hard parts.
What If I Am Afraid to Hope?
Beth: Hope is a tender, touchy subject for a lot of people. What would you say to a woman who is afraid to hope? Someone who’s been disappointed and fears hoping again? How have you navigated hope after disappointment?
Liz: Hope is a crucifixion. I’m sorry, but there it is. There’s always a little death mixed in with the hope. But what are you dying to? A lie that tells you God doesn’t care? Or that you know better than God? Or that you’re not worth it? That you are unlovable? That the desires of your deepest heart are of no concern to the Father? That you will never be truly, deeply happy or loved?
Sisters, die to the lie! Turn to the Truth! And let Him love you into hope.
Surprised by Hope
Beth: You share some incredible stories from your own life in the devotional. Was there a certain memory that surprised or delighted you to write about?
Liz: I was delighted to share a story from my mother’s life and that it just happened to fall perfectly on the Nativity of Our Lord. My mom is a true heroine in prayer and it was a great joy to be able to honor her in this way. I won’t give away the story! But she pretty much rocks.
Beth: I can confirm it’s an absolute joy to read and I know it will bless many, many hearts on Christmas day.
Something that always moves me about the Lord is how He’s always after my heart, even when I’m doing ministry. I wonder, did writing this devotional change you, your relationship with God, or your hope in any way? How was this book a grace or gift to you?
Liz: It was a total gift to me. I keep calling it my “chemo-recovery project.” I was so, so wiped out by chemo. It hit me pretty hard, maybe because I also have MS. But as I began to pray about this project, I found I had energy, ideas, hope! I sat in my chair with my bald head and went to work. It bumped around a bit at first, but once I got settled into a rhythm, it was an absolute joy to write and such a gift to be able to work again and to work on something so worthy. If anyone gets anything out of this little work, I’ll be thrilled. But if no one gets anything, if it’s a complete dud, I will already have been well paid by the Lord for allowing me to write it.
Hope in His Word
Beth: You love Scripture. Nearly every essay you write starts with Scripture or has it woven throughout. Can you tell us about how you fell in love with God’s words and how you like to pray with it?
Liz: Very curiously, one of the greatest influences on my relationship with Scripture was with my best friend from college, Heather. She knew God’s Word, lived it, loved it. She really invited me into loving it like she did. And Heather, as it turns out, was diagnosed with cancer just one month after me. We both had surgery and were on the same chemo schedule just one week apart. We were texting and writing back and forth constantly through this whole process, sharing all of it, from figuring out when to shave your head, to prepping for chemo side effects, to thinking through the possibility of death and leaving loved ones behind. Even that was a gift, to be able to walk through this experience with someone who loves the Lord so well and loves me. It was really something special, a real gift to both of us.
But I am convinced that there is a wound in the soul of every woman that only an encounter with God’s living, active Word can heal. I have seen it again and again in spiritual direction, that once a woman really starts to encounter the Lord through His Word, healing at a whole new level begins to take place. In the same way that you cannot be in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament and not be changed—even if you don’t perceive that change—you cannot have a regular encounter with God’s Word and not be changed. It is a tonic, a purifying fire, a passionate kiss, a sharp-edged sword (see Hebrews 4:12), and a healing stream gushing forth in the desert. It’s the Lord’s great love letter to His people. We should read it again and again, understanding exactly that.
Beth: Oftentimes we can become too familiar with Bible stories or verses and it’s difficult to go deeper and really engage with it. Any tips on how we, too, can read it prayerfully to discover the secrets of God’s Heart hidden for us there?
Liz: The first thing I would say is this: When you ask the Holy Spirit to come and to help you pray, He does. Have confidence in that. Even if prayer feels dry or flat, the Holy Spirit is always at work in you. Trust that.
The second thing I would offer is this: Keep at it. Praying with God’s Word is a spiritual muscle like anything else, and it needs to be exercised. Some days it will be delightful, other days painful, other days routine. I find I am continually surprised at how fresh God’s Word is. I was praying with the Good Samaritan parable not long ago, a parable I know inside and out, and have studied in iconography and other artwork; it’s super familiar. And yet, God just popped up one new fresh idea that in all these years I had never latched onto before, an idea that was incredibly healing and timely. Approach God’s Word with desire and great anticipation. He has more for you. Always. His Word cannot be exhausted.
The Burning Quality of Hope
Beth: What are you most excited about for the women who will walk through the Advent devotional this year? What is your hope for them?
Liz: That they catch fire! Hope has a burning quality, a burning like the burning bush on Mount Horeb; it burns, lights, purifies, communicates, illuminates—but without destruction. Jesus longs for us to burn like that, to be women who walk through the world with a purifying, illuminating light that shows the way to those around them, one that communicates His message of mercy and compassion, life, and love. I hope they catch fire.
Beth Davis is a lover of Jesus, a retired youth minister, the Director of Formation for Blessed is She. She is passionate about teaching women how to develop an intimate relationship with Jesus in prayer through writing, speaking, and mentorship. Her favorite things include being the favorite aunt to her five niece and nephews, making friends everywhere she goes, and whatever book she’s currently reading.
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