What My Son Heard in a Story He Had Already Lived

When Christopher and I recently sat down to talk about his experience narrating the audiobook for From Success to Surrender, he said something that stayed with me:

“I lived the journey too.”

He was right. He lived through the job loss, the uncertainty, the financial strain, the career changes, and the years when Lisa and I were trying to understand what God was doing in our family. He was there for all of it… But he was also a child.

At the time, he could see what was happening around him, but he could not fully understand what was happening within us. He did not know all the questions we were asking, the prayers we were praying, or the tension we often felt between trusting God and wanting clearer answers.

Narrating the audiobook gave him the opportunity to go back and experience those years from a different perspective. He was no longer simply remembering events from his childhood. He was hearing the story through the eyes of his parents and recognizing some of what God had been forming in our family all along.

That has become one of the most meaningful parts of this project for me.

As we talked, Christopher reflected on what he remembered most from those years. It was not the uncertainty. It was not what we lacked. It was not even the professional success or financial stability that had changed so dramatically.

What he remembered was that Lisa and I were present. He said that when he looks back on the meaningful moments of his childhood, we were there. And not only for the major moments. We were also there when he came home from school, when questions surfaced, when health challenges emerged, and when life simply needed our attention.

That reflection meant more to me than he probably realized.

During those years, I often wondered whether I was getting it right. I was wrestling with calling, provision, identity, and purpose. I was trying to discern whether I was truly following God or simply failing to rebuild the kind of life I once had.

What I could not always see was that while God was doing a work in me, He was also doing a work through me. The very season that felt uncertain to Lisa and me was helping form something in our children.

Christopher shared that the freedom and flexibility he experienced growing up has now become something he deeply values in his own marriage and in the kind of life he hopes to build. He saw that being present was not merely a scheduling decision. It was a way of communicating what mattered most.

That is the nature of legacy. We often do not recognize it while it is being formed.

We may think we are simply trying to remain faithful during a difficult season, but someone close to us may be learning what perseverance looks like. We may think we are just making the best decision we can with limited information, but someone else may be watching us choose trust over fear. We may think we are merely trying to be present, but years later, someone may look back and recognize that presence as one of the greatest gifts we gave them.

That does not mean we live perfectly. We certainly did not. It means God is able to use even the unfinished, uncertain parts of our lives to shape those around us.

That is what this audiobook has reminded me.Christopher was not simply reading my story. He was revisiting part of his own. And through that experience, both of us were able to see more clearly that God had been doing something across generations, even when none of us fully understood it at the time.

Perhaps that is worth considering in your own life today… What might the people closest to you be learning from the way you are living right now?

You may not feel like you are building a legacy. You may simply feel like you are trying to make it through the season in front of you. But those two things may be closer than you realize.The audiobook for From Success to Surrender is now available on Amazon and Audible. I would be honored for you to listen to the story in Christopher’s voice and consider what God may be forming through your own journey.

Preview the audiobook here →