Today on the podcast I’m talking with Dr. Mary Eyring, associate professor of English at Brigham Young University. Dr. Eyring studies early American literature, and her research has immersed her in the physical and spiritual suffering of ordinary women and men who, like the man Elder Eyring spoke of, reached their breaking point but had to go on. In our conversation, we turn to the work of theologian Sarah Bachelard, author of a short book titled Experiencing God in a Time of Crisis. We talked about how to move forward when a crisis, whether sudden or slow-motion, causes spiritual collapse, and how the pattern of the atonement can give us something to hold on to.

Mary taught me a better question for a time of crisis. As natural as it is to ask “How could this happen?”, a better question might be: “How is God grieving in this situation?” Grieving as God grieves, not as our anxious and frightened human minds want to, can lead us through the valley of the shadow of death into a larger and truer life.