Over 20 years ago <shudder> I was a leader of the Campus Life group at my high school and a subscriber to Campus Life Magazine. A former editor at the magazine had left to write novels, so the magazine published an excerpt from one of his books, Dream Thief. His name: Stephen R. Lawhead, and I immediately loved his writing. I went back and read all his books that I could get my hands on.
When I got to college, I found my new roommate to be a Lawhead fan too...one of the few things we had in common. I was quiet, bookish, and a bit socially awkward. He was outgoing, loud, and the life of every party. One day he had a crazy idea. "Let's call Stephen Lawhead!" I thought it was the craziest thing I'd ever heard but he talked me into it. We looked at a dust cover that said he lived in Lincoln, Nebraska so we picked up the phone and dialed information. His wife, Alice, answered the phone and said that Stephen wasn't home but we could call back in a half hour or so. I was ready to quit but my roommate was not giving up. We called back later and spoke for a good 30 minutes with our favorite author. He was incredibly friendly and gracious with a couple of audacious teenagers. He told us he was packing up the family to move to Oxford, England to begin researching his new book series: The Pendragon Cycle.
As simple as it was, I'll never forget that experience. Faithful readers of my blog know I've mentioned Stephen Lawhead a number of times. His books are really the only works of fiction I take the time to read. Even though he is primarily a writer of fiction, his books have taught me, challenged me, and encouraged me throughout my life. In particular, God used Stephen's book Byzantium to help wake me from a very dark time in my life. It's the only time a book has ever brought me to tears. I consider him a mentor of sorts, even though I've never really met him.
This weekend I was stunned to receive an email from Stephen's mother, Lois. She had noticed that I mentioned Stephen in my blog. At first, I was stunned that she would write to me. As I read the letter, I was stunned by the news she shared. Stephen is ill and has been hospitalized. She asked me to pray for Stephen's recovery. With this blog, however, I can do better than that. I can get lots of people to pray for him. So I'm asking: please pray for Stephen Lawhead and his family as they go through this trial.