Interview with Author Angie Smith

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Many of you are already well-acquainted with Angie Smith and her blog, Bring the Rain. I was blessed to meet Angie through a feature I wrote for ParentLife magazine's December issue (now available!). Angie is a homeschooling mom, a gifted writer/blogger, and a follower of Christ. She and her husband Todd (of the CCM group Selah) followed Christ through the difficult pregnancy and death of their daughter, Audrey Caroline, just a few years ago. Through this tragedy, Angie became one acquainted with Christ's sufferings, and she speaks with the hope, compassion, and wisdom that comes after such a trial in her new book, I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy. I so enjoyed my interview with Angie! There wasn't room in the article for everything we talked about, so I saved this portion of the interview exclusively for my Mom Seriously readers. Angie is a gal who will provoke your desire for a deeper walk with the Lord.


MS: You know, Angie, in your book you write about how much the suffering you have experienced has caused you to grow into a deeper and richer walk with Christ. I think most Christians understand that suffering has huge benefits in the long run, but most of us don't ever think about asking God for suffering. We don't ask God to make life more difficult in order to become stronger in our faith. That is really the opposite of what we ask from God.

Angie Smith

Angie: It is a profound thing to invite suffering. I do believe God wants us to be in line with His will. When there are times of suffering that come into our lives, we recognize that it is time to give Him glory. That's when we say to God, I’m willing to be your servant. If this suffering is what it takes to make the soil rich, then bring the rain.

MS: Do you see a movement in and among today's generation of Christians who are willing to take more risks when it comes to life as a follower of Christ?

Angie: I do feel that, in general, there is a movement in my generation and younger who are stepping out in faith, who don’t necessarily fit into the perfect, happy life. This is a community of believers who are rising up to say that, if you’re going to God to be your aspirin, then you’re missing the entire point of Christianity. For instance, I recently met a girl named Katie who ministers in Africa. She's adopted 18 children. She's only 21! Hers is not a "religion" that is a pretty, sitting-in-church-with hymnals, present-out-of-duty kind of thing. If you’re a follower of Christ, you’re in good company if you’re choosing to put yourself in a situation that isn’t pretty, or safe, or easy.

MS: You have four daughters here on earth, three of whom experienced your baby Audrey Caroline's brief life with you. Your book shares the many ways that you and Todd helped your girls connect with and know their baby sister. Time will tell the many ways Audrey's life will affect them, but how do you think going through the rain has affected the way you parent and pray for them?

Angie: I really hope that God will fill the gaps that I know that I am leaving in my parenting. I feel like I know my daughters' hearts, and they have such beautiful, innocent love for the Lord. My prayer for them is that they will continue to grow into women who will ask for rain and be at peace with whatever God has for them. To stand up for whatever He calls them to, even if it isn’t popular.


You can read more about Angie, her story, and how she and her family grew when God brought the rain in the December issue of ParentLife magazine! I'm also excited to announce that you'll be hearing a lot more from Angie when she takes over the Mom's Life column in ParentLife beginning in March 2011! You can't imagine how thrilled I am that my 8+ years as a columnist for ParentLife are sandwiched between Beth Moore and Angie Smith!

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