Finding “Tidbits of Joy” in Seasons of Pain: Mattie Jackson Selecman & Deborah Evans Price
Jesus Calling: Stories of Faith
Jesus Calling
4.6 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 6 August 2020
⏱️ 34 minutes
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Summary
Our stories are a combination of pain and beauty, of grief and love, of despair and wonder. In the moments when pain and isolation threaten to engulf us, God is there to lift us up and, as our guest Mattie Jackson Selecman says, sprinkle “tidbits of joy” along our darkest paths. Growing up, Mattie watched her dad, country music superstar Alan Jackson, sing songs that connected with people across the country, and she knew she was born to tell stories just like him. But Mattie never could’ve imagined one of the stories she’d tell would be a tragic story of her own: losing her newlywed husband Ben in an accident. With God’s help, and with her Jesus Calling devotional by her side, Mattie began to put the pieces of her life back together and found healing in the very ministry that she co-founded to heal others, NaSHEville. Music journalist Deborah Evans Price passionately chased her dream to tell stories behind some of country and Christian music’s biggest stars, becoming a full-time journalist at Billboard Magazine. But Deborah learned firsthand that just because part of your dream works out doesn’t mean your whole life will fall into place. As Deborah tackled an unexpected cancer diagnosis, she learned there’s true joy in allowing others to come alongside us and care for us when we’re at our lowest.
Links, Products, and Resources Mentioned:
Jesus Calling devotional
Jesus Calling Peace for Everyday Life video series
Jesus Calling Magazine [FREE!]
Jesus Calling Podcast Episode with Dawn Barton: Joy: God’s Antidote to Pain
LSU [Louisiana State University]
1950’s Big Band crooner Vic Damone
Interview Quotes:
“Jesus is the only hope, not because He's the only thing left to turn to, but because He's the only thing that will bring light in the dark.” - Mattie Jackson Selecman
“You kind of take [faith] for granted until you have real reason to buckle down and understand and evaluate, Why is this my faith, and why is this not just what I've been told and taught?” - Mattie Jackson Selecman
“Don't feel like it's your job to plan out every step of your life—go live it. And what happens to you will be the story that you'll end up telling.” - Mattie Jackson Selecman
“He walked the way Jesus walked. He saw people for who they were, and not for what they did, or for something that he expected or wanted from them.” - Mattie Jackson Selecman, on her husband Ben
“On paper, we did all the things we were supposed to do, you know, to “get the miracle.” But we didn't. And part of understanding and processing and finding joy amidst the pain doesn't come from having that question answered.” - Mattie Jackson Selecman
“Wherever you are in your faith, He'll find you.” - Mattie Jackson Selecman
“God will bring tidbits of joy. That's what I've learned above all else. And I tell people, pain and joy are not mutually exclusive. They can dance in the same scene together.” - Mattie Jackson Selecman
“God's put me here to help tell people stories. That's a privilege.” - Deborah Evans Price
“It’s hard to be vulnerable and let people see when you're when you're hurting.” - Deborah Evans Price
“I just wake up every day thinking, You just don't know what God’s going to bring in your life or what exciting door He’s gonna be opening. Every day is a new adventure.” - Deborah Evans Price
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Enjoy watching these additional videos from Jesus Calling YouTube channel:
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Video Playlist: https://bit.ly/2PsmEkJ
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Jesus is the only hope and not because he's the only thing left to turn to, but because he's the only thing that will bring light in the dark. |
| 0:10.0 | Welcome to the Jesus Calling podcast. If each of us were to share our stories with the world, |
| 0:14.8 | we'd likely find that they're made up of all different elements. |
| 0:18.0 | Triumph, tragedy, hopes fulfilled, and dreams dashed. |
| 0:22.0 | Our two guests this week are writers who inspire, educate, |
| 0:25.2 | and even entertain by telling people's stories and remind us that joy and pain can |
| 0:30.5 | mingle together in our stories. Maddie Jackson Selectman and Deborah Evans Price. |
| 0:38.0 | Maddie Jackson Selectman is a natural-born storyteller, |
| 0:41.0 | a skill she picked up from her father, country music artist Alan Jackson. |
| 0:45.6 | After college, Maddie was eager to spread her wings and her father encouraged her to go find |
| 0:50.4 | something to write about. |
| 0:52.2 | Maddie moved to a new state, tried new experiences, |
| 0:54.8 | and a career change, and along the way, |
| 0:57.0 | met and married a wonderful man named Ben. |
| 0:59.7 | A few weeks shy of their one-year wedding anniversary, |
| 1:02.2 | Maddie and Ben were on vacation when an unexpected accident changed the course of their life |
| 1:07.4 | together. |
| 1:08.4 | Maddie shares a little bit about her Nashville upbringing and how the support of the community is carrying her |
| 1:13.6 | through one of the most challenging seasons of her life. |
| 1:17.0 | Hey y'all I'm Maddie Jackson Selectman and I am a Nashville native. |
| 1:22.3 | I'm a avid reader, writer, entrepreneur, crazy, didn't plan that but I am now and it didn't feel special growing up in Nashville when I was a kid but now it feels like you |
| 1:33.9 | know they call us unicorns or whatever but you know I think it's almost like |
... |
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