A Letter to My Younger Self
I recently had the privilege of joining Susie Davis on her Dear Daughters podcast. In preparation for our conversation, Susie asked if I would pen a letter to my younger self. You can listen to our full interview right here. The letter I shared with Susie and her listeners is printed for you below.
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Dear Twelve-year-old Christie reading her copy of The Secret Garden for the third time,
I know that book is filling your heart with a sweet but painful ache. I know you want a garden of your own.
I remember how those descriptions of an English springtime blooming with daffodils sent you straight outside into your father’s Texas garden. But I also remember what you found there: mosquitoes, fire ants, scorching heat, and a humidity so thick it took your breath away.
You gave up. You did not ask your Dad “for a bit of earth” as Mary had in the story. You would never grow beautiful things. Didn’t have what it takes, apparently. Best to stay indoors and read another book and another book and another book until the Texas summer finally gave way to the first cold front of November.
Dear girl, so hungry for beauty. Keep reading those books. Keep dreaming of daffodils with yellow trumpets through you have never seen them with your own eyes. That desire for a bit of earth has been planted in you by your Maker. It is good no matter that it hurts so much right now. Don’t stuff it down too far. Don’t see it as a sign of your own failure. Nurture it with stories. Feed it with the roses your mother cuts from your father’s garden and places in a jam jar on the kitchen table. Enjoy the Texas wildflowers in March, those fields of red and blue. They are every bit as beautiful as Mary’s secret garden, though they need no care from you.
One day you will understand why you read that book so many times, and you will give thanks for the ground beneath your grownup feet.
You will understand that this is no ordinary ground. It is ground prepared for you–prepared for your spade and your watering can, your dreams and your desires–years before you knew it would be given to you.
And when the daffodils you planted bloom by the hundreds you will sing a song of praise to the God who calls forth music from yellow-petaled trumpets.
Yours,
Christie
Ep. 17 – When the Answer is “No”
This is the story of a Jasmine-scented South African summer night.
This is a story about disappointment in God, and this is a conversation about the dreams that do NOT come true.
Christie and Lisa-Jo recorded this episode the week of Christie’s twenty-second wedding anniversary. They marveled over the long years of their friendship, and all the dreams-come-true they have witnessed in each other’s lives.
But what about those dreams that don’t come true?
Can we trust a God who sometimes says NO? Is that God still good?
Lisa-Jo tells the story of her most bitter disappointment and the surprising encounter she had one warm, South African night.
Out of the Ordinary
The podcast for anyone who’s ever felt the nagging frustration of wondering if her life is too small, too boring or too ordinary to make a difference. Lisa-Jo Baker and Christie Purifoy, longtime friends and bestselling authors, explore the surprising ways that cultivating ordinary life leads to extraordinary stories.
Visit our official podcast page!
Christie Purifoy
Co-Host
A writer and gardener, her favorite ordinary things include strawberry jam, homegrown flowers, and old books with someone else’s notes in them.
Find Christie’s books here.
Lisa-Jo Baker
Co-Host
A reader and writer, her favorite ordinary things include hot tea with milk and sugar, a good movie, her mom’s hand-me-down books and Sunday afternoon naps.
Find Lisa-Jo’s books here.
RECENT PODCASTS
#outoftheordinarypodcast is on Instagram!
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Ep. 16 – When Your Worst Fear Comes True
This is the story of your worst fear come true.
This is a conversation about trusting God with our kids, and others we love, this new year. Christie and Lisa-Jo recorded this episode after celebrating one son’s eleventh birthday in the Black Barn at Maplehurst. If children make wishes when they blow out birthday candles, the parents who love them make wishes, too. Mostly we want our kids to be safe.
But what if God wants to give them something better, something more, than safety?
Christie tells the story of the terrible mistake that almost cost her young son’s life, leading to a conversation filled with hard questions and trustworthy promises. If you worry about what this year might bring to those you love most in the world, this episode is for you.
Out of the Ordinary
The podcast for anyone who’s ever felt the nagging frustration of wondering if her life is too small, too boring or too ordinary to make a difference. Lisa-Jo Baker and Christie Purifoy, longtime friends and bestselling authors, explore the surprising ways that cultivating ordinary life leads to extraordinary stories.
Visit our official podcast page!
Christie Purifoy
Co-Host
A writer and gardener, her favorite ordinary things include strawberry jam, homegrown flowers, and old books with someone else’s notes in them.
Find Christie’s books here.
Lisa-Jo Baker
Co-Host
A reader and writer, her favorite ordinary things include hot tea with milk and sugar, a good movie, her mom’s hand-me-down books and Sunday afternoon naps.
Find Lisa-Jo’s books here.
RECENT PODCASTS
#outoftheordinarypodcast is on Instagram!
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