GodPrints
By: Jenny Leavitt
It should come as no surprise that having hope can positively impact our overall well-being. After a twenty-year study** about hope and optimism, Martin Seligman, the founder of Positive Psychology,* concluded that having hope can reduce feelings of helplessness, boost happiness, reduce stress, and improve one’s quality of life. But where does hope come from?
For Christians, the answer is clear—Jesus Christ. All our earthly trials are easier to bear when weighed against the promise of an eternity with Him. In fact, they even serve a purpose.
For Jenny Leavitt, author of GodPrints, it was her hope through belief in Jesus that sustained her through stage 4 cancer, marriage troubles, her husband’s job loss, and homelessness. And then the unthinkable: a collision with a drunk driver took the life of her seventeen-year-old son and left her remaining son clinging to life with catastrophic injuries. She realized that she would not have survived, nor would she have been able to help others going through similar trials, had it not been for her hope in the Lord.
“It was during those bleak days of cancer treatments,” Leavitt states in her book, “that I noticed something about humanity. While I leaned on my faith for strength and peace, I looked around and saw people facing the very real possibility of death, just like me, lashing out at God in anger for allowing it to happen. Or they would wallow in self-pity, giving in to the despondent feelings of despair and hopelessness. Still others chose to lean on their own power, limited as it was. I realized that we humans don’t go through something like that very successfully without Jesus.”
For anyone beaten down by life hazards, feeling adrift among trials, or struggling with day-to-day challenges, Leavitt’s book offers encouragement.
“I want to help people who are struggling with their faith to find answers and hope like our family has. The common thread woven throughout our story is the hand of God—His GodPrints that are evident everywhere.”
If you find yourself feeling hopeless as you navigate our increasingly confusing world, Leavitt’s message of hope in God might just be the lifeline you need.
“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him” (Psalm 62:5).
* https://positivepsychology.com/
** https://faithgiant.com/hope/
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
As a pastor’s wife, Jenny Leavitt sees and is amazed by how far God will go to rescue broken, hurting people. She has witnessed God’s faithfulness through shattering loss and wants to encourage others to lean into Jesus in all of life’s ups and downs. While her son Jacob is already home in heaven, Caleb daily makes her proud as he strives to love Jesus and be the man God called him to be. Jenny and Myron, her best friend and husband of nearly thirty years, make their home in central Florida with a dog who thinks he’s a cat.
Website: jennyleavitt.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenny.leavi.9
Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-leavitt/
SUGGESTED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS
- What motivated you to open up about your life in such a personal way?
- Are there any details in the book that you had forgotten until you began the process of writing your story?
- You are very candid about your battle against cancer. Was there ever a time when you truly believed you would succumb to the disease?
- How does your experience with grief help you minister to others?
- You know your son was saved, but how do you comfort a parent who doesn’t have that assurance?
- Did writing the book offer any outlet or personal therapy for you?
- Was it difficult to write about the times of your life when you faced circumstances that might be considered shameful, such as job loss and homelessness?
- Why do you think some people face what seems like more than their share of trials while others seem to skate through life?
- What would you say to someone who doesn’t know how to find the GodPrints in their life?