How does suffering shape our hearts? How do we tell the story of our pain in a way that both heals our own ache and helps others in theirs?

Author and recording artist Andrew Peterson is a storyteller. His beloved Wingfeather Saga Series tells an epic fantasy-adventure tale about three children caught in a great mystery. Exploring themes of courage, sacrifice, and redemption, Peterson masterfully captures the attention of audiences young and old alike. His understanding in the power of story came from his own love of story and through navigating his own valleys as he walked through a deep season of depression and seeing God's story reveled more clearly to Him throughout his life. As an artist, Peterson has deeply connected to audiences through his honesty in his music and writings.

In this conversation, Davey and Andrew talk about his personal journey through depression, the connection between writing and processing our lives, how we can hold both joy and sorrow in tandem, and what needs to happen before we start sharing our stories with others.

If you are wondering how to tell the story God is writing through your life, this episode will show you how to take the first steps in sharing the remarkable ways God is shaping you through both the ups and downs of your experience and will remind you of who the ultimate hero is in the story.

How do we practice the way of Jesus when our lives are riddled with pain and suffering? What does it look like to grow spiritually when we are hurting?

Author and Bible teacher John Mark Comer has been leading others towards what he calls an apprenticeship with Jesus, teaching how we can learn the intended rhythms and practices God wants us to engage in by simply looking to how Jesus walked and talked in this world. We are all being spiritually formed by something, he argues, and if we want it to be a formation in the likeness of Christ then we need to learn to sit with Him, become like Him and do the things Jesus did. This is the very message of his latest book, Practicing the Way: Be with Jesus, Become like him, Do as he did, which can help Christians learn the spiritual disciplines that Jesus taught and modeled for all believers.

In this deeply insightful conversation, Davey and Aubrey chat with John Mark about what spiritual formation is, what types of spiritual disciplines we should be doing in our seasons of pain and suffering, and the important impact of community when we are hurting. They go on to talk about the dark night of the soul, a spiritual experience often described by theologians but rarely discussed in churches, in which God removes the felt sense of his presence while remaining as near as He ever was. It can be one of the most disorienting experiences for those who encounter it and yet as John Mark shares, there is a richness offered in the spiritual life of the one who walks through it.

If you've been struggling to do basic spiritual disciplines in your suffering or if you've been wrestling with a deep sense of God's absence in your life, this episode is a gentle reminder that God is with you when you are hurting and that He invites you into rest and to simply be when you don't have the strength to do.

Have you ever wondered if you are still truly healing when the pain feels as fresh as the day you experienced a past loss or grief? How do we know that healing is happening as time moves forward, but our ache remains?

Davey Blackburn, Aubrey Sampson, and Eric Schumacher are not only hosts on the Nothing is Wasted podcast, but all have experienced their own seasons of deep grief, loss, trauma and tragedy. With pastoral wisdom and the heart of fellow sojourners in the valley, this episode is a unique roundtable conversation of what healing truly looks like at different points in our journey. Speaking from raw vulnerability, our Nothing is Wasted hosts share their own personal walk through pain and the often times messy, winding path towards healing.

In this conversation, Davey, Aubrey, and Eric tackle the role time plays in our pain, what to do when it feels as though God is absent in the days after loss, and how the journey towards healing is never a perfectly straight one.

If you are struggling to recognize whether or not healing is happening in your own life, this episode is a gentle comfort in knowing that hurt may remain for your days here on earth, but there is a hope beyond what you can see that will one day undo all the pain you've encountered.

How do we enter a new year after a loss or trauma? What do we do when it feels like that flip of the calendar means leaving something we held so dear in the past?

The truth is with every new milestone, including a new year, our pain can seem to be amplified by the memories of what we've lost. It can be hard to enter a new season knowing that parts of ourselves, people we love and our lives as we once knew them are in the year we are leaving behind. How do we even begin to navigate a beginning after such a tremendously painful ending?

In this episode, Davey spends some time answering the question of what it looks like to walk into a new year after loss, trauma, tragedy or pain. He shares his own personal journey after losing his wife Amanda and how we can still have agency in our lives when it seems like we have no control over anything in our lives.

If you're stepping into this new year with a sense that something so precious is remaining in the past one, this conversation will encourage you with practical ways that you can keep walking forward towards hope and healing.

The holidays can feel especially tender for those of us who have recently experienced a loss, trauma or transition. Figuring out how to move through a season where it can seem like the whole world is experiencing happiness while we are struggling with feelings of grief and sadness is hard.

How do we begin to find hope for the holidays? How do we navigate the waves of emotions and the changes in traditions we once held so dear?

In this special release episode, join Amy Sylvestre, Community Director here at Nothing is Wasted, as she shares practical wisdom from a previously recorded masterclass called Hope for the Holidays: Navigating the Season When it Hurts. This podcast episode is a special gift to you, our Nothing is Wasted listeners, as you walk through this season.

If the holidays feel different than years past because of the pain you are enduring, let this episode offer you tangible ways to honor your grief and make it through this Christmas season.

Grief can feel crushing. How do we begin to take the steps to move through the pain we encounter? How do we help others who are experiencing loss?

Author Beth Marshall has felt the pangs of loss in her life. In one season, she lost three family members and began to wonder if the feelings she was experiencing were normal. Wondering if she could ever love her life again, Beth began taking some practical steps towards healing. It was through that journey that she began to learn from herself and others what was most helpful when people were walking through grief. It was those lessons that became the message of her latest book, Uncrushed.

In this conversation, Davey sits down with Beth and talks about how we can begin to track God's faithfulness in the moments where He seems absent, how to find the support you need when you are hurting, and practical ways to love those who are walking through loss.

If you are grieving or if you know someone who is, this episode will give you helpful wisdom on how to get through grief and find hope in the midst of it.

What do we do when the things we are seeing in church or with Christian leaders is leading to disillusionment? How do we deal with the disappointment in the ways Christians behave in the public square, online and in the pews?

Author and Editor in Chief Dr. Russell Moore has experienced the pain of denominational turmoil and sharp political disagreements that have led to hurtful slander and unkind discourse. He has found himself at the center of conflicts that he never intended to be a part of. It was through his own personal experiences and the experiences of others that he began to consider the ways in which the American Church was drifting from the heart and purposes of Jesus. In his book, Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America, Moore explores how the American Church has lost its way and offers an invitation to repentance as a new start forward.

In this conversation, Dr. Moore sits down with guest co-host, Eric Schumacher and discusses how to navigate the current cultural unrest as believers, what to do with our disillusionment in the Church, and how to help our friends who are struggling to trust in God based on the behaviors of those claiming to follow Him.

If you've struggled with the headlines of fallen leaders and the vitriol of those proclaiming Christ in the midst of current affairs and have been left feeling like the American Church doesn't align with the way of Christ, this episode will give you hope that nothing we are experiencing in this generation is a surprise to Jesus and He is not done yet with His bride.

What if the perpetrator of your pain isn't something on the outside, but your own sinful choices that have led to your suffering? How do we navigate the self-inflicted hurt caused by our own destructive decisions?

Author and Pastor Max Lucado knows the feelings that can come from sinful decisions. In his own life as a young man, he began to see the dangerous trajectory of his choices if he didn't surrender to God's leading. Later as a well-known pastor and author, he would experience a similar reckoning when the weight of leadership became overwhelming and he turned to alcohol to ease the pain. It was through those experiences that Max's heart grew for those who have felt like Jacob in the Bible, wrestling with God and wondering if God had given up on them. In his latest book, God Never Gives Up on You: What Jacob's Story Teaches Us About Grace, Mercy, and God's Relentless Love, Max explores Jacob's story and how it relates to each of ours.

In this honest conversation, Davey talks with Max about how we can truly believe that God doesn't give up on us, how to approach our self-induced pain, and the importance of authenticity in leadership.

If you've ever wondered if God has given up on you after the mess you've made in your life, this episode will serve to remind you that no matter how far you've gone or how long you've wrestled, God's grace, mercy, and love never runs out.

What do you do when your past keeps showing up in your present? How do you address the pain from childhood as it presents itself in your adult life?

For Dr. Mark McNear, a childhood of every kind of abuse and trauma left him completely broken. From sexual abuse as a small boy and the harsh emotional abuse of his father to several traumatic events of violence and being hit by a drunk driver, Mark's entire life was marked by extreme pain. The wounds o f his past begin to manifest in his adult life through addiction, anxiety and depression. As a therapist, Mark had helped walk others through their pain and yet he needed to receive the same care he so often gave away. It was through the gentle compassion of his wife and others and the grace of God that Mark began the difficult journey towards healing. Mark would go on to share his personal journey to help others in theirs in his book, Finding My Words, A Ruthless Commitment To Healing Gently After Trauma.

In this vulnerable conversation, Eric and Mark discuss how to love people well in the midst of their addiction, finding hope in the process of healing, and seeing God's grace move when you are struggling with the grips of shame.

If healing has been a difficult journey and one that feels incomplete, this episode will show you that while you may not be instantaneously "fixed" this side of heaven, you can experience the richness of God's love and mercy in every new day through His gentle process of tending to your wounds.

How do you find the words to pray when you are in the middle of loss and suffering? How do mark the holy moments, both big and small, in a special way?

Author Doug McKelvey and artist Ned Bustard have collaborated on three volumes of Every Moment Holy, books filled with liturgies to help people find the words in the joyful, the mundane and the most difficult moments of life. In their second volume, Every Moment Holy: Death, Grief, and Hope they offer prayers for those who are in the middle of life's most painful seasons. From helping those who are caregivers to offering words for those who are facing their own mortality, their book combines both visual art and words when it is hard to know what to even say.

Ned would eventually experience the art he was creating to help others serve as a balm to his own heartache in the loss of his wife. It was through the power of Doug's writing and Ned's creative process that Ned felt the power of this work in his own personal pain.

In this episode, guest co-host Eric Schumacher discusses with Doug and Ned how liturgies can help us find the words to pray, the creative process in creating meaningful work, and what happens when what you create for others ends up ministering to you.

If you've ever found it hard to pray in either the moments of grief or in the everyday moments, this conversation will teach you the power of liturgy in our journey as believers.

Warning: This episode does briefly discuss loss by suicide and may not be suitable for all listeners.

How do we care for a loved one with a disease that steals their memories? How do we tend to ourselves when we are helping aging parents?

For Guideposts Editor-in-Chief Edward Grinnan, these were the very questions he had to answer after his mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Edward had to learn not only how to walk through such a difficult disease, but also how to face the reality that he too might one day suffer from it. Edward went on to chronicle his own journey through his mother's illness in his latest book, A Journey of Faith: A Mother’s Alzheimer’s, A Son’s Love, and His Search for Answers. It was through his journey that he was able to see with clarity God's presence and love.

In this episode, Davey talks with Edward about how telling our stories reveals who we are, the impact Alzheimer's Disease has on families and caregivers, and specific ways that caregivers can care for themselves while tending to their loved one with the disease.

If you are being impacted by Alzheimer's, caring for aging parents or know someone who is, this conversation will encourage you to see how God can show up in the ways we show up for those we love.

How do we move towards the cross when our journey is full of detours, distractions and divergence from the abundance and freedom Christ offers us?

For author, musician and pastor Josh White, learning to navigate the terrain of his past wounds while pastoring wasn't a linear course. When the hurt from growing up with an alcoholic father began to bleed into his life and ultimately his ministry, Josh went down the difficult road of examining himself and his story. Through his own personal reflection upon his life and upon the crucifixion of Christ, Josh wrote Stumbling Toward Eternity: Losing & Finding Ourselves in the Cross of Jesus, as a way to better understand the freedom that the cross offers to each of us.

In this episode, Davey talks to Josh about why we are seeing leaders fall to scandal, how to notice pinpoints of God's grace, and where to even begin in the mess of learning to forgive those who have deeply wounded us.

This conversation is an encouragement to anyone who has ever felt like their spiritual walk was more of a stumble than a climb upward as they heal and grow in greater understanding of the work Jesus did upon the cross for each of us.

What can we learn from those who have walked the road of suffering before us? How do we take the stories of Christians whom we admire and glean the hard-won wisdom from what they've endured?

Many know the story of Elisabeth Elliot, who lost her first husband Jim after he was killed when on a missionary trip in a remote part of Ecuador. She would later lose her second husband, Addison Leitch, to cancer. Yet in all of her pain and loss, Elisabeth was a prolific teacher, speaker and author, pointing others to her only source of comfort in her suffering, Jesus.

Elisabeth's legacy has touched countless number of lives and has impacted how others have viewed their pain including Davey and Kathy Reeg. Kathy was drawn to Elisabeth's teaching at an early age and through what she can only explain as several God moments, would become the head of the Elisabeth Elliot foundation, which has worked tirelessly to preserve Elisabeth's legacy and artifacts from her life.

In this unique episode, Davey sits down to talk with Kathy about the importance of understanding God's sovereignty in our suffering, Elisabeth's willingness to do what God asked of her, and how each of us have the same power of the Holy Spirit that worked in Elisabeth in our own lives as we face trials and difficulties.

The legacy of Elisabeth Elliot is a reminder that God is faithful when our lives are full of suffering and that even when our stories are not the ones we want, He is working for good in whatever heartache we are experiencing.

When it comes to addressing trauma in our stories, it can seem as though cultural expectations and the messages received as young boys can keep men from engaging in their pain and ultimately, experiencing true healing. How can men better address their stories of hurt and heartache in a way that helps them to move forward with both strength and tenderness?

Counselor and author Chris Bruno began to see a pattern emerge in his own story and in the countless others of those he counseled. Men who didn't receive a clear path in terms of their journey from boyhood to manhood and who didn't address their wounds, often struggled with maladaptive behavior patterns that hurt themselves and others. When there wasn't intentional attunement to their stories of pain, their lives and the ones around them were deeply impacted. It was through this realization that Chris based the work in his practice and his books in order to help men find a way through the terrain of their own hearts and lives into the healing and redemption that God intended. His latest book, Sage: A Man's Guide into his Second Passage, helps men navigate midlife and beyond.

In this deep conversation, Davey sits down with Chris to talk about how there is always a story behind our behaviors, the impact of how boys are raised in their emotional health as men, and the stages of every man's journey.

This episode is a reminder that God longs to enter into the painful parts of our story and help us find a way to turn that pain into tender strength for those around us.

How does the gospel apply in the loss of a marriage? Where can everyone involved find hope after the pain of divorce?

Having grown up as a pastor's kid of a world renowned theologian, John Piper, Barnabas Piper knew the right theological answers in life. It was through his own personal journey of pain after an unwanted divorce that led him to a newfound understanding of God's grace and mercy in his hurt and ultimately, his life. Since then, as a pastor, Barnabas has been able to help others through their own feelings of shame and heartache and has pointed them to the ways in which the gospel applies to all.

In this honest conversation, Nothing is Wasted guest host, Eric Schumacher sits down with Barnabas to talk about the transition between theological knowledge into a true understanding, what the gospel says to everyone who is affected by a divorce, and how the Church can love people well through the pain of a broken marriage.

This episode is for anyone who has walked through or has loved someone who has walked through a divorce as it reminds us all that God's redemptive love and the hope of the gospel applies to every pain we will ever endure.

How can you turn an ending into a beginning? What do you do when you find yourself wrestling with God over the losses you are experiencing?

For pastor and author Tim Timberlake, after losing his father as a young man, who was his hero, he had a lot of questions and anger towards God. He found himself wrestling in ways he never had before. And yet through it, God clearly revealed the purpose He had for Tim's life after such a painful loss. Since then, Tim has answered the call into ministry, following in the footsteps of his father. And Tim has seen God teach him how to overcome when the odds seem stacked against him. It was those lessons of learning to overcome and deal with loss, hurt and challenges that led to his book, The Art of Overcoming: Letting God Turn Your Endings Into Beginnings.

In this episode, Davey sits down with Tim to talk about what you can find in your wrestlings, how to step into the calling and assignments God has for you and how to experience true peace in your pain.

If you've ever wondered how to begin to overcome in the face of adversity, this conversation will remind you that God offers a fresh perspective when it comes to your pain that can help you see past the hurt and focus on the hope that is on the other side.

WARNING: This episode discusses pornography and may not be suitable for all listeners.

What do you do when you struggle with an addiction, but you don't fit the common narrative of those who struggle with that addiction?

For author and speaker Jessica Harris, it was often difficult to even talk openly about her addiction to pornography that started as a teen because most people deemed this a male-only problem. But, porn addiction affects women as well as men. In fact, in recent years the amount of women who have consumed and became addicted to porn, has significantly increased. And yet, even in places like the Church, this topic is often taboo or not talked about. And for those who suffer from the effects of this addiction, it can breed shame and isolation, which keeps them from experiencing the healing and hope Jesus Christ offers. It was because of her own journey that Jessica decided to begin sharing her story through her ministry, Beggar's Daughter, and help other women struggling with pornography addiction to know they are not alone.

In this important conversation, Aubrey sits down with Jessica to discuss how the narrative in the Church surrounding pornography is often harmful to women who are struggling with this addiction, the freedom that comes from sharing our story, and how healing can come for those who are suffering silently.

You don't have to have struggled with a similar issue to see how shame is a powerful weapon of the enemy to keep us from breaking free from the lies and strongholds that stop us from the invitation to healing that Jesus offers.

What do we do when our suffering makes us feel angry at God? How do we continue to hold on to our relationship with the Lord when we are struggling with difficulties and trials in our lives?

For author, musician and spiritual director, Strahan Coleman, his battle with chronic illness left him depleted physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially. And while it felt as though so much was being stripped away in his life, he also began to experience an expansion when it came to his relationship with God. It didn't come easy though, but only through the painstaking honesty and lament in his cries to the Lord for help and healing. Through it, Strahan learned the power of being with God rather than simply working for Him. It was that journey that led him to write, Beholding: Deepening our Experience in God, in which Strahan encourages believers to see prayer as a beautiful invitation of not just seeking, but becoming.

In this deep conversation, Eric sits with Strahan to discuss the role of prayer in our suffering as well as our daily lives, what to do with anger towards God, and what it looks like to behold God in our suffering.

If suffering has ever left you wondering if God even cares, this episode will remind you that the Lord wants you to come to Him with all of your pain and emotions and to learn to simply behold Him in the process.

Have you ever read the headlines of what is happening to Christians across the globe and felt a sense of helplessness? How do we step into the stories of suffering from those who are so far away?

Lily Meschi has a unique story. As an Iranian woman, she experienced the impact of a culture that didn't value her as a woman. When she was just 18 years old, she entered into an arranged marriage and nothing could have prepared her for what was to come. It was after a long season of experiencing abuse and toxicity in her marriage that Lily first heard the gospel. That moment forever changed her life as she was able to get away from the abuse and experience true freedom and redemption through Christ. Since then, she has seen God turn her pain into purpose as she has sought to share the gospel with others from her home country through the ministry she works for called Iran Alive. Not only has Lily seen redemption in her own story, but in countless others who were set free from an oppressive culture and who now walk in the freedom of a life in Jesus.

In this insightful conversation, Davey talks with Lily about how we tend to overcomplicate sharing the gospel, the power of redemption that comes when we serve in communities that were the source of our pain, and how to step into the suffering of those across the globe.

Your story and culture may look completely different from Lily's, but seeing how God can redeem the pain we encounter will serve to remind you that nothing is wasted.

What do you do if much of your pain is caused by your own choices? How do you begin to break free from shame and find God's grace in your past?

For author, pastor and Bible teacher, Ines Franklin the journey towards healing has taken some time, but God has been with her every step of the way. Having grown up without a father, Ines found the wounds of her past and her own decisions led her to living with immense shame. She divorced twice, had two abortions, and had been engaged in an affair. When she came to know Jesus, she still carried around the scars that her pain and shame had left on her.

As she began to more fully embrace the gift of God's grace in her life and as she told her story more openly, she started to see the shame lift and God used her brokenness to help others. In her latest book, Uncharted: Navigating Your Unique Journey of Faith, Ines looks at how each of us have our own road to walk when it comes to our faith and how even our greatest struggles can be used as a part of God's greater plan for our lives.

In this episode, guest host Vaneetha Risner sits down with Ines to discuss how to disentangle shame from our stories, learning to understand God's grace in our lives and the importance of absorbing the pain we've caused others.

If part of your pain is because of your own decisions, this conversation will encourage you that God can use even your worst choices to bring about healing and hope for yourself and others.