From Pastor to Theological Vagabond, Jonathan Foster on Loss, Beauty, and Defiance

I Don't Know How You Do It

Apr 9 2024 • 34 mins

When we encounter death, we're forced to confront life's biggest questions. Why do we suffer? Where is God in our darkest moments? Can we find beauty and meaning in the midst of grief?

Our guest is writer and former pastor Jonathan Foster who joins us for a profound and incredibly moving conversation about his book "Indigo: The Color of Grief," which he wrote after the tragic loss of his daughter.

In this raw, poetic dialogue, Jonathan invites us into the "liminal space" between hope and despair that he's inhabited since his daughter's death. He shares how this experience shattered his traditional beliefs about an omnipotent, omniscient God and led him to be "disinvited" from his religious denomination.

Jonathan reframes beauty as an act of defiant resistance against tragedy. And ultimately, he reveals the surprising power in simply being present with those who are suffering - not trying to solve or fix, but sitting alongside them in their "hell."

Whether or not you've experienced profound loss, Jonathan's perspective contains valuable wisdom for anyone confronting life's toughest challenges. By the end, you'll have a new appreciation for the profound presence of absence and be inspired to live with deeper intention.

You'll learn:

  • Why you don't have to choose between hope and despair
  • Why your pain doesn't get smaller, and why you might not want it to
  • Why beauty is an act of resistance
  • What we call the person who sits with us in hell
  • Why "no thing" is a very big something
  • And so much more...

Learn more about Jonathan:
website
Indigo
Instagram

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Music credit: Limitless by Bells