Acknowledgments

I am profoundly grateful to artist and teacher Elizabeth Ivy Hawkins for saying yes to painting as Wren Crawford. It’s challenging enough to paint with your own voice and in your own style—but to inhabit a fictional character whose style, passions, and limitations as an amateur had already been established in Shades of Light required a particular brand of courage and skill. Not only did Elizabeth take to heart Wren’s temperament and fears, but she also leaned into Wren’s creativity and spirituality. It was a joy to work with Elizabeth on this project, and I’m grateful for her attentive receptivity to the Spirit’s guidance and inspiration. I hope you’ll visit her website (www.elizabethivy.com) to purchase prints, explore her other work, and learn more about art as a spiritual practice.

I’m also grateful to my friend Bette Lynn Dickinson (www.bettedickinson.life), who generously gave permission for me to use the center panel of her larger work titled, “What Breathes Beneath Our Story” as the art for station eight. Bette is a gifted artist and ministry leader who uses art to facilitate encounters with God. Prints of all her paintings are available on her website.

To Therese Kay (www.theresekayphotography.com), Jennifer Oosterhouse, and Martie Bradley, who shared photos for the prayer collage, thank you!

To the stellar team at IVP and especially to my editor, Cindy Bunch, and my marketer, Lori Neff, who were with me at dinner when the complex vision for this book began to emerge. Thank you for journeying with me through all the “what if” possibilities for this work. Thanks, too, to Jeanna Wiggins for the beautiful interior design and to Elissa Schauer for her excellence in managing all the details of production. Jeff Crosby, you are a gifted leader and a kind and generous friend. Thank you.

To my prayer partners, friends, and family: I couldn’t do any of this without your love and support. You share in this ministry with me, and I am deeply grateful. Mom and Beth, we share the grief and also the hope of resurrection as we remember Dad together and celebrate the beauty and faithfulness of his life. I love you and am so grateful God gave me the gift of each of you. Jack and David, though it’s my name on the cover, your wisdom and compassion fill the pages. I love you and thank God for you.

Finally, to you, Lord. All of this is from you, through you, and for you. To you be the glory. Always.