God has come to teach us—not to snatch us away from our difficulties, not to erect some impermeable barrier between us and the world or our troubles, not to fight our battles for us like a spiritual Clark Kent, but to teach us. In the midst of our troubled, messy lives, Christ has come to teach us how to have true Life and how to have it abundantly. God has come to teach us so that all things will work for good; God has come to teach us how to have a peace that passes all understanding.
This memoir tells the story of a man’s life, particularly his spiritual journey as a minister in the Religious Society of Friends. Lloyd Lee Wilson began keeping a journal when he was eight years old, and he has kept journaling his entire life. This book contains descriptions of events taken from the journals, including recountings of vocal ministry and prayers; other writings by Lloyd Lee (and the writings of others); and Lloyd Lee’s reflections on events and his inward journey as well as his inward state today as he looks back on his life.
Lloyd Lee writes in his introduction to this book: “A wise Friend once said that since Friends have no creeds to define us, we have to tell our stories in order to remember who we are as a particular people of faith. These stories from my own life are shared as insights into who Friends have been in the places and times I have occupied, to help us remember. They are an account of my trying to be faithful to a call into public ministry among Friends and others and of my consequent struggles to find the support and accountability among my faith community to answer that call faithfully.”
It is the intent of the publisher to bring this book into print for the benefit of the reader so they might use it in reflecting on their lives and discerning choices and possible calls laid before them. The spiritual journey that leads to putting God at the center of one’s life is the beginning point for doing good works in the world.
About the author
Lloyd Lee Wilson has been active in the public ministry since his youth. His service to Friends includes time spent as general secretary of Friends General Conference, serving on various Friends United Meeting boards and commissions, and yearly meeting appointments in New England, Baltimore, and most recently North Carolina Yearly Meeting (Conservative). Lloyd Lee has written a great deal on Quaker faith and practice as well as given talks and lectures and led workshops and retreats. He has been a recorded minister in four different monthly meetings of the Religious Society of Friends.