S4 Episode #6- Alyson Pryor
THE ONE WITH ALYSON PRYOR
This week we welcome Alyson Pryor to the show! Alyson’s powerful testimony gives encouragement to anyone walking through suffering, struggling with unfulfilled longing, or feeling stuck in a wilderness situation. I know that this conversation was exactly what I needed, and I pray that it brings light and hope into your life as well!
Alyson holds degrees in Psychology from both The University of Southern California and Fuller Theological Seminary. She is currently working towards her M.A in Spiritual Formation and Soul Care to better address the needs of those she cares for. She researches and speaks on topics at the intersection of faith and psychology including health, relationships, soul care, mentoring, parenting and spiritual formation. She is a writer, a wife, a mother of 5 and an advocate in her community around issues of homelessness. You can find more information and essays at https://alysonpryor.com.
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God uses all of the little pieces along the way to get us to new and often surprising places with Him.
Unfulfilled Longings
Alyson came to know the Lord in a season of suffering, and therefore she clings to the Suffering Savior side of Jesus. He met her and carried her through her suffering.
What if we gave it all to God– every aspect of our lives? God worked in Alyson’s heart and life to help her let go of control.
We all have that thing inside of us that wants to be birthed into the world. For Alyson, it is writing. She has between 8-10 completed manuscripts that have yet to be birthed into the world. The Lord has met and sustained her here. She is stuck in the land in between– in the wilderness– but God has offered daily bread.
Every time a manuscript fails, it breaks her heart. Yet, she continues to keep going.
When the Israelites were wandering in the wilderness, their path looked like a plate of spaghetti– constantly wandering in all directions. We often think that other people’s lives are linear and wrapped with nice little bows… but that is often not the reality. We are all stuck in crazy loops with unexpected paths. The work is often to meet God in this unknown place, receiving His daily manna and continuing to move forward.
It is not wasted. The failed attempts are not a waste. God can still use every part of it to bring forth goodness in your life.
Often we take something to God for a few days, and when we don’t hear anything we tend to give up. It is painful to want something and not have it, so our natural tendency is to give up on it or numb yourself to the pain of not having it. However, don’t lose heart– continue to relentlessly seek the Lord.
The Character of God
The Avocado Tree— Alyson will often pray under her avocado tree. After her last rejection she was weeping under the tree, feeling helpless. As she looked around, many of the upper fruits had fallen to the ground and were destroyed by squirrels. In that moment, she felt like she was the dirty, smashed up avocados– All of the fruit of her life had fallen to the ground and was useless.
As she continued to pray, she was drawn to a passage in 2 Samuel that said, “God sustained Samuel and none of his words fell to the ground.” This clicked into her heart in a new way and she heard The Lord remind her that none of her words would fall to the ground!
The Lord met her and sustained her in a moment of great sorrow and loss.
Being Stuck
This is an invitation, if we will see it as such.
When Alyson’s mother-in-law passed away, she was overcome with grief. She was at a crossroad in many areas of her life and felt stuck. She felt that everyone around her was moving forward and she was not.
During this time, she started walking along the creek near her house. She was on a bridge watching the water, and there was a maple leaf stuck in the creek. The water was flowing all around it, but the leaf was stuck. She started sobbing, realizing that she was the leaf.
And not only was she stuck, but she realized that God had her stuck for a purpose. We believe God is in control. So, if God is sovereign in all things and I have yielded my life to His control and I am stuck, then that is part of God’s will too. Yielding to this was a very important moment because it brought her back to what it must have been life for the Israelites in the wilderness. They knew nothing and had nothing– and God was teaching them how to reorient their hearts to being free people. Their hearts and desires were being reformed. This is God’s big redemption story for His people– he instituted Sabbath and rest in the desert, in the place where they were stuck.
When we are in a place where we feel stuck, this is an invitation to find rest in the stillness.
Our culture tends to tell us that if something is not “productive” in the world’s eyes, then it is not useful. However, rest and stillness are so important.
Soul Care
Alyson shared that her initial instinct to suffering is to run.
On a micro level:
Grief and suffering are like a broken bone. You must tend to your body– eat the good food, take the vitamins, go on walks, get your sleep. Treat your body as if it is your best friend.
On a maco level:
Having a rule of life– having a good balance of that which is life-giving and that which is draining.
Here are the things that Alyson includes in her Rule of Life:
Rest – daily (sleep every night), weekly (Sunday Sabbath is a day of prayer and play), quarterly (retreats– 48 hours of silence and solitude) and yearly
Book Recommendation: Invitation to Solitude and Silence by Ruth Haley Barton
Community
Jesus
Exercise
Nature
Final Thoughts
The book of Matthew – this book highlights how accessible Jesus was!
This is a valid way of moving through life– embracing the ministry of accessibility.
The book highlights the proximity and accessibility of Jesus. Jesus was available for the people that needed him, and he was sustained by God. This radically changed the way that she viewed Jesus and how we are called to live life in the here and now.
Jesus asks, “What do you have?” THAT is what he wants to use. He will multiply what you have in order to use it for the glory of His Kingdom!
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