Good morning…
The life-changing influence of my favorite book continues to expand.
In the fall of 2007, I met the first edition of The Hidden Life Awakened when Becky Anderson, the beloved scribe of Christian mystic Betty Skinner, spoke at our church on the newly released book chronicling Betty’s journey up from the valley of clinical depression to the peak of healed wholeness with God. Betty “was forty-two years old, mother of four, wife of a successful business man and community leader, suburban socialite, Sunday school teacher, civic volunteer – and cripple by debilitating depression.” (5) At the time I was forty-four years old, mother of four, wife of a successful chaplain and community leader, our church’s Children’s Ministry coordinator, and I was just inching my way up from my own dark valley of debilitating depression. Betty Skinner’s story of hope became a trusted hand for me to hold onto, as I journeyed toward my own healed wholeness with God.
In the summer of 2010, the fall of 2013, and the spring of 2016, I was transformed more and more as I taught this holy book to various small groups of women at church and in our living room. Over those years, God has grown for me a deep, vibrant friendship with co-authors Kitty Crenshaw and Dr. Cathy Snapp, and I have traveled to Florida a handful of times to spend quality time with now nearly ninety-four year old Betty. In the spring of 2018, Kitty and Cathy, Northside Church and The Cathedral of St. Philips collaborated to create the “Awake to Wellness Women’s Retreat,” hosted first her in Atlanta and later in Orlando, Florida. Now we are partnering with Peachtree Road United Methodist Church to offer to our community the newly conceived “Awake to Wholeness Women’s Retreat” on March 27th and 28th, 2020. (Please mark your calendars and save the date.)
In spring 2019, I gratefully accepted their invitation to be on the board of BSW Ministries, a non-profit ministry preparing to carry on Betty Walthour Skinner’s life-giving legacy. Then just this fall, a brand new insight dawned on me as I read aloud the following words to our class. The Hidden Life Awakened has not only helped to heal my past pain while growing fruitful friendships in the now, but knowing Betty Skinner personally is transforming for me the vision of my future.
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Excerpt from Richard Rohr’s Falling Upward
Most of us tend to think of the second half of life as largely about getting old, dealing with health issues, and letting go of our physical life, but the whole thesis of this book is exactly the opposite. What looks like falling can largely be experienced as falling upward and onward, into a broader and deeper world, where the soul has found its fullness, is finally connected to the whole, and lives inside God’s Big Picture.
It is not a loss but somehow a gain, not losing but actually winning. You probably have to have met at least one true elder to imagine that this could be true. I have met enough radiant people in my life to know that it is fairly common. They have come into their human fullness, often against all odds, and usually by suffering personally or vicariously. As Jesus describes such a person, “from their breasts flow fountains of living water” (John 7:38). These are the models and goals for our humanity, much more than the celebrities and politicos whom we care so much about today.
…We all need at least one such a mirror if we are to thrive.” (153-154)
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Below this quote in my book, I have written the name “Betty Skinner.” Betty has held up a mirror for me to see the joyful, peaceful, grateful person I want to be when I am nearing ninety-four years old myself. Radiant in her human fullness, from the breasts of Betty now flow fountains of living water to quench the thirst of many on this soulful, suffering journey.
Beginning next week, I will teach for the first time from the newly updated second edition of The Hidden Life Awakened. In addition to journeying through these powerful pages, I will pilot with Dr. Cathy Snapp the “Path2Green True Self Awakening Program.” This faith-based, behavioral program will guide as we make healthy choices with our eating, our sleeping, our exercise, our relationships, and our thoughts and emotions. Since the first edition of this amazing book was published in 2006, neuroscience has caught up with Betty Skinner, and scientific advancements can now tangibly measure the effectiveness of Betty’s intuitive, God-guided steps toward holistic healing, healthy body, serene mind, powerful spirit. Now all of us are invited to harness the mystery and the beauty of our own unique true self “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:3).
Over time, ascending on the slant of God’s higher ways, the life-changing influence of my favorite book continues to expand.
“If this program or this work is merely human, it will fall apart, but if it is of God, there is nothing you can do about it—and you better not be found fighting against God!” (Acts 5:39, MSG).
…Sue…
P.S. If you live in the Atlanta area and you would like to sign up for this class or any class offered through our Women’s Ministry at Northside Church, please touch on this link, browse class descriptions, and register at your earliest convenience. The Hidden Life Awakened classes hosted in our living room in Vinings begin next Monday the 13th, 1:00 to 2:30 pm, and Friday, the 17th 10:30 – 12:00 pm. These two classes are privileged to pilot the “Path2Green True Self Awakening Program” written by Dr. Cathy Snapp and her renown team of doctors. For the $20 fee, books and materials, weekly syllabus and light snacks will be provided for the twenty to twenty-five women who are fortunate to grace each roster.
