In this "Things Above Conversation" James Bryan Smith chats with Casey Tygrett. Casey is the host of the “otherWISE” podcast, a place for gathering wise conversations about living well on the journey with Jesus. He holds both a Master of Divinity degree and a Doctor of Ministry in Spiritual Formation degree from Lincoln Christian Seminary. He is the author of two books, Becoming Curious: A Spiritual Practice of Asking Questions (2017) and As I Recall: Discovering the Place of Memories in the Spiritual Life (2019), both with InterVarsity Press. Casey has served both in rural churches of 25 and suburban megachurches of 10,000. He and his wife Holley and their daughter Bailey currently live in Chicago, IL where he is the Theologian in Residence at Parkview Christian Church.

In this episode James talks with Casey about his latest book, As I Recall: Discovering the Place of Memories in the Spiritual Life, as well as how our memories (long term and short) impact our relationship with God.

What if our memories are like shells we gather on a beach? According to pastor and spiritual director Casey Tygrett, "We—and all those who have come before us—pick up the experience and we sense it: we feel its edges, notice its color, we smell the distinctive character (for shells it is the sickly seafood salt smell) of the experience and we try to make sense of what it is. Is it beautiful? How would you describe the color—the tones, the shades, wrapped around the ridges and swirls? Has it been damaged? Does the hard edge scrape our hand, leaving a blemish or a mark?”

How we hold and carry these memories—good and bad—is a part of what forms us spiritually. In this way we have a common bond with the people of Scripture who also had a sensory life, gathering shells and trying to make sense of them.