OK, so I try not to watch Oprah too much, as her shows are generally not good to have on with the kids around.  However, I shooed them outside yesterday to watch her interview her latest author pick, James Frey, author of A Million Little Pieces.  (I love to watch things about authors and writing, which explains why I did the book on writing!)  I enjoyed hearing his descriptions of why he wrote the book and how he decided to write it, etc.  However, I kept hoping that he would attribute his success in kicking addiction to faith in God.  I never heard that, or even a hint of that, and it made me so sad. 

Instead, he really honed in on his "message" which is, "hold on."  One guy even had it tattooed on his arm.  He counseled one lady who was battling drug addiction to "hold on."  Basically, his message is that if you just hold on a little longer, the feelings will pass, the circumstances will change, etc.  I have found this to be true in my own life as well.  However, my question to him would be, "What are you holding on to?"  I know that when I am in a "holding on" period, I am usually clinging to something-- to my faith that God can and will come through in an amazing way in His timing.  I am clinging to the Word and the promises and encouragement it contains.  I am holding on to the Truth that we are not home yet, and that we are supposed to feel like aliens and strangers here. 

Towards the end of the interview, James Frey said that he has faith in "things that he can see and touch and feel."  At this point, my oldest son was in the room and I turned to him.  "What is wrong with that statement?"  I asked him.  "What did Paul write about faith?  That it is..." And he smiled at me, realizing what I was getting at.  "It is believing in the unseen," he said.  "Jesus said, 'Blessed is he who has not seen and yet believes.'"  Right!  Am I glad that my son gets that, and I pray that as he grows up and encounters tough times, that he will cling to that faith and not just in the things he can see and touch and feel. 

Watching that interview, it drove home again how much our culture needs Jesus.  All these hurting, broken people searching for something to hold on to.  Crying out for someone to love them and offer them hope.  Am I offering that hope to the lost?  Am I reaching out to those who are at their lowest or am I sitting up in my ivory tower tsk-tsking?  I pray that God will send people into James Frey's life who can show him the Truth and a faith and hope he never dreamed of.