Find Your Way Home: Words from the Street, Wisdom from the Heart

By Magdalene Inc and Rev Becca Stevens

I remember the first day I came home. There were four beautiful women walking out onto the porch to say hello. This was the home I’d almost forgotten about. Thank you, God, for leading me home.




Have you ever felt lost?Do you long for a group of friends?Will you ever find your way home?



In this remarkable book, the women of Magdalene ask questions that all of us ask, and they share their own joyous, painful, uplifting answers. Inspired by the classic Benedictine Rule, the women have written down 24 rules they live by in the Magdalene community, a place of healing and grace.







“Magdalene is living out the call and making something of the Kingdom happen.” -Tony Campolo, author of Speaking My Mind“With honesty and urgency, Becca Stevens and her fellow pilgrims from Magdalene reveal the insights gained on their personal journeys to wholeness.” -Gloria Gaither, Christian recording artist

“Magdalene has a tremendous track record of bringing recovery, hope, and independence to women in need.” -Bill Frist, M.D., Former U.S. Senate Majority Leader



“In Find Your Way Home there are 24 rules...designed to provoke people into discovering that God loves you as you are right now. And that God loves the possibility within you.” -The Most Rev. Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop, Episcopal ChurchMagdalene is a residential community of women who have a criminal history of prostitution and drug abuse. The women live together in a series of Magdalene homes, supporting themselves and each other through the work of Thistle Farms, a bath and body-care business run by those in the program. For more information, go to www.thistlefarms.org.



Becca Stevens is the author of Hither & Yon, Finding Balance, and Sanctuary, nominated by Christianity Today as best spirituality book of 2005. Featured on CNN and in other national media, she is an Episcopal priest at St. Augustine’s Chapel at Vanderbilt University.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Abingdon Press
• Release date: Sep 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9781426722530

Book preview

title

Abingdon Press / Nashville

FIND YOUR WAY HOME

WORDS FROM THE STREET, WISDOM FROM THE HEART

Copyright © 2008 by Abingdon Press

All rights reserved.

No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission can be addressed to Abingdon Press, P.O. Box 801, 201 Eighth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37202-0801, or e-mailed to [e-mail].

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Stevens, Becca, 1963–

Find Your Way Home: Words From the Street, Wisdom From the Heart / Becca Stevens.

p. cm.

ISBN-13: 978-0-687-64705-7 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Meditations. 2. Stevens, Becca, 1963– . I. Title.

BV4832.3.S74 2005

242—dc22

2005015053

All scripture quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17—10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Contents

Introduction and Invitation

Come Together

Proclaim Original Grace

Cry With Your Creator

Find Your Place in the Circle

Think of the Stranger as God

Take the Longer Path

Make a Small Change and See the Big Difference

Let God Sort It Out

Stand on New Ground and Believe You Are Not Lost

Forgive and Feel Freedom

Unite Your Sexuality and Spirituality

Show Hospitality to All

Laugh at Yourself

Consider the Thistle

Listen to a New Idea

Lose Gracefully

Remember You Have Been in the Ditch

Walk Behind

Live in Gratitude

Love Without Judgment

Stay on Point

Pray for Courage

Find Your Way Home

Leave Thankfully

About Magdalene

Acknowledgments

This has truly been a communal effort, with over a hundred contributors. One day Sigourney was asking the women to write, volunteers like Carolyn and Catherine were bringing food, twenty women were writing all morning, and interns like Ali were typing the writings into a document that we could edit later. Some of the early editors included Lindsay Kee, Richard Lodge, and Carole Hagan. Later editors included Sigourney, Gene, Stephanie, Jason, Carole, Marlei, and Cary. Baptist Healing Trust provided funding to help us create the book. Contributors include Regina, Sheila, Katrina, Marcus, Stephanie, Melissa, Gwen, Shaun, Lisa, Cindy, Jackie, Val, Tracey, Cynthia, Bev, Rosana, Nicole, Angela, Gladys, Meg, Kathleen, Kristin, Cheryl, Peggy, Nikki, and many, many more people and volunteers. This book could not have happened without the leadership of Carlana Harwell, the president of Magdalene's Board, and Toni Rodgers, the treasurer. Thank you to Gilbert, Cary, Joann, Dorinda, Tori, Rick, Rod, Pat, Dick, Connally, Sandy, Kay, Charlie, Cary, Jodi, and Peggy. We are grateful to the entire staff of Magdalene, including the directors of the program, Holli Anglin, Donna Grayer, Marlei Olson, and Cary Rayson. Their dedication and love make the program work.

Thank you to photographer Kristina Krug, all the thistle farmers, and all the volunteers, who make this journey so much more beautiful.

This book is dedicated to the women whom we have known who didn't find their way home, especially Julia, Peggy Sue, and the two Jane Does buried in Nashville, Tennessee. Thank God that