Posted on Feb 07, 2025

Finding God in Life's Disruptions

Finding God in Life's Disruptions

In a world where faith often comes through traditional paths and comfortable journeys, it's refreshing to encounter individuals who find God in life's unexpected turns and challenges. This week, I had the privilege of sitting down with Al Carraway, a seven-time award-winning author and international speaker who has found her voice through life's disruptions. Al's journey from being a skeptical New Yorker to becoming a powerful voice of faith, leading church history tours, and authoring multiple books is a testament to how divine disruptions can lead to profound spiritual transformation.

Al Carraway's story is one of raw authenticity and unwavering determination. As someone who once set out to prove the missionaries wrong and ended up finding her truth in the very teachings she questioned, Al has demonstrated that God often works through unexpected channels. However, what sets her apart is her unique perspective on trials and her ability to see God's hand in life's most challenging moments. As a speaker and author of multiple books, she now dedicates her life to helping others understand how their own disruptions might be divine interventions in disguise.

Al shared profound insights about letting "God be God," finding sacred spaces in unexpected places, and how embracing life's challenges can lead to spiritual magnification. Her experiences offer valuable lessons on viewing trials as stepping stones rather than stumbling blocks, providing inspiration for anyone navigating their own storms of faith. Join us as we explore the connection between divine disruption and spiritual growth, and discover how embracing life's unexpected turns can lead to a deeper, more authentic relationship with God.

The Journey to Faith 

Al Carraway's path to faith began in New York, where she grew up in an Italian Catholic family. Initially setting out to prove the missionaries wrong, she decided to live their principles temporarily, expecting to demonstrate that one could live a fulfilling life without their teachings.

What followed was unexpected – her baptism at age 21 marked the beginning of a transformative journey. The cost was immediate and severe: her father declared he no longer wanted her as a daughter, friends disappeared with shocking speed, and years of family silence followed.

These early trials set the foundation for what would become her unique relationship with God. Rather than breaking her faith, these challenges taught her to trust in divine timing and purpose, establishing a pattern that would define her spiritual journey.

Learning Through Loss and Trials 

Al's spiritual journey is marked by what she calls a pattern of "worst-case scenarios," beginning with her conversion and continuing throughout her life. A pivotal moment came when her family followed spiritual promptings to move from Arizona to New York, only to end up houseless for two months with three children and a dog.

During this trial, living in a hotel room while their savings drained away, Al reached a breaking point. After weeks of fading optimism, she collapsed in tears, feeling completely abandoned. It was then that God spoke clearly, asking, "Why won't you let me bless you? Why won't you let me take you somewhere better?"

This experience became a turning point in her understanding of trials. She realized that what often feels like divine abandonment is actually evidence of God's active participation in our lives, preparing us for something better than we had planned.

Finding Sacred Spaces 

As a church history tour guide, Al has made a remarkable discovery about sacred spaces. While leading tours to significant religious sites, she observed that less than 2% of people identify traditional sacred sites as their personal spiritual landmarks.

Through her tours, she's witnessed countless individuals finding their own unique connections with God in unexpected places. One particularly moving example was a woman who found her sacred spot at Niagara Falls – not an official church site, but a place where she felt God's presence profoundly.

This understanding has revolutionized how she views divine connections. Her experiences have taught her that God appears differently for everyone, making each person's journey uniquely personal and sacred in its own way.

The Pattern of Divine Renewal 

One of Al's most profound insights comes from observing God's pattern of renewal in our lives. She describes it as a rhythmic breathing – periods of depletion followed by divine restoration, much like the ebb and flow of waves.

This understanding was tested during a high-risk pregnancy when doctors bluntly told her she would die. After seven months of trauma, the condition mysteriously disappeared. Her initial response of "God is good" led to deeper reflection about whether we only recognize God's goodness in favorable outcomes.

Through these experiences, she's learned that God's goodness isn't dependent on our circumstances. Every step, even the painful ones, is part of a greater pattern of divine renewal and transformation.

Your Personal Divine Journey 

Al's journey teaches us that faith isn't about avoiding trials but about recognizing God's hand in them. She challenges us to remove the boxes we place around God and allow Him to work in unexpected ways, even when His methods don't match our expectations.

Each trial, she suggests, is an invitation to let God be God without human-imposed limitations. When we approach our challenges with this mindset, we open ourselves to greater magnifications than we could have imagined.

The invitation is clear: allow God's ways to disrupt our plans, embrace the unexpected, and trust that He is leading us to something better than we could have designed ourselves. As Al's experience shows, when we give God the space to be God, we find ourselves not just surviving our trials but being transformed by them.

Thank you for listening to this week's episode of Why We Believe. If you are interested in more inspiring stories of faith and transformation, you can check out our other episodes here.

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Years later, Jonathan received the touching news that one of them had married in the temple and was starting an eternal family. This experience reinforced a crucial principle: sometimes the most significant spiritual breakthroughs come not from formal teaching or preaching, but from authentic connection and genuine friendship. It's a reminder that building God's kingdom often happens through small and simple means, and that showing real interest in others' lives can have eternal consequences. Your Divine Journey As we reflect on Jonathan Guynn's inspiring journey through law and faith, we're reminded that success doesn't have to come at the cost of spiritual growth. His story challenges us to view our daily actions and decisions from an eternal perspective, whether we're in a high-powered career or any other walk of life. More importantly, it shows us that authentic connection and genuine care can create ripples of spiritual impact that extend far beyond what we can see. Each of us has the potential to make a significant difference in the world when we align our actions with our spiritual beliefs. Whether it's through professional excellence, service in our communities, or simple acts of friendship, we can be instruments in God's hands. Jonathan's experiences remind us that sometimes the smallest acts - like playing cards with teenagers or showing up consistently for service - can have eternal consequences. As you go forward from reading this post, consider how you might view your own challenges, successes, and relationships through this spiritual lens. Remember that God's deal with us isn't about receiving immediate rewards for our good deeds, but about becoming more like Him through faithful living and loving others. When we embrace this perspective, we open ourselves to a deeper kind of success - one that transforms not just our circumstances, but our very nature. Thank you for listening to this week’s episode of Why We Believe. 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