Faith and Healing

 Ep. 057 with Leanne White

Dear friends, welcome to a truly heartfelt reflection on a recent episode of the Good Grief Believer podcast, hosted by Julie Craig. This particular conversation, featuring the sweet and insightful Leanne White, truly resonated with the core of what it means to navigate life’s inevitable changes—especially grief and loss—while holding fast to an unchanging God. Leanne’s wisdom, drawn from her personal journey and her fulfilling work at the Union Gospel Mission, offers a comforting guide for anyone seeking lasting stability.

The episode opens with Julie Craig’s delightful recounting of her chance meeting with Leanne White on an airplane. Leanne, a native of Alabama, was adopted into a loving Christian home and spent much of her life in the South before being guided by divine providence to Spokane, Washington, for her current job. This serendipitous meeting immediately set the stage for a discussion about how God orchestrates even the smallest details of our faith journey.

Leanne’s academic background in communications and theological studies perfectly illustrates her two passions: a gift for writing and a heart for ministry. Interestingly, she shared that while she initially worked in a church, she found herself becoming disconnected from the spiritual focus. She realized she was so focused on the “work of the Lord that you lose the Lord in the work”. 

This pivotal moment of recognition—a lesson we all need to remember—led her to pray for a role where she could use her God-given talent for writing to serve the Kingdom. That answer came clearly in the form of the Union Gospel Mission (UGM).

A Hand Up to Long-Term Life Change: The Ministry of UGM

Leanne’s role at UGM is to share the powerful recovery stories of men and women who have gone through the program—a mission deeply rooted in Gospel principles. Julie Craig expressed her long-standing support for UGM, commending their life-changing work in helping individuals overcome hardships like addiction.

Leanne’s insights into compassionate ministry are invaluable. She emphasizes that true compassion sometimes requires tough love and a focus on providing “a hand up, not a handout”. The goal at UGM is to lead people to long-term life change by allowing them to recognize and lean into their inherent dignity and worth. She explains that the recovery programs are not short-term solutions—they span 18 months, with options for aftercare—to ensure individuals have the necessary community and support for true, lasting healing.

This principle aligns beautifully with a profound Biblical truth shared by Julie Craig, quoting Ezra Taft Benson: “The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in”. Christ doesn't just take people out of the slums; He takes the slums out of people. Leanne confirms this is the foundation of UGM’s work, which seeks the root of addiction—the void in the soul that people are desperately trying to fill. It is only Christ, the One who sets the prisoners free, who can truly heal from the inside out.”

A Mother’s Heart for Grieving Children: The Impact of Loss

The conversation takes a tender turn as Leanne reflects on her personal grief journey after the loss of grandparents. Her grandfather’s passing when she was just 12 marked her first experience with the death of a close relative. She candidly admits that, as an already emotional child, she lacked the tools to handle grief and didn’t understand how to navigate it.

Leanne offers a gentle but necessary reflection on how children’s grief can sometimes be overlooked because adults assume the child is too young to fully understand. While her family never intentionally neglected her, Leanne later realized she hadn't fully processed her feelings because the tools weren't there. Julie underscores the isolation a child can feel during such a communal grief experience.

A memory from her grandmother’s funeral resonated deeply: her desire to visit the gravesite on a rainy day, but as a child, she lacked the agency to make it happen. This highlights a key takeaway for all mothers and caregivers: listening to a child’s specific needs during grief, no matter how small, can create a special moment of healing. Leanne is eternally grateful that her family allowed her to be present at the services, integrating her into the adult process rather than shielding her from the reality of death, which she notes is a vital step in becoming acquainted with this natural part of life.

Leanne fondly remembers her grandparents as a warm, safe, and humorous pair who were a constant and a "main character" in her young life. Having such a loving foundation made their passing all the more impactful.

The Anchor of Personal Faith vs. Parental Faith

A powerful discussion ensued about the nature of Christian faith and spiritual growth. Leanne credits her mother as one of the godliest people she knows, who instilled a strong foundation of prayer and scripture. This foundation, Leanne explains, was the anchor that brought her back to the Lord later in life when she sought "freedom" in college.

This discussion inevitably led to a difficult question: why do some young adults, despite a faithful upbringing, experience bitterness or express anger toward their parents’ faith, sometimes leading to spiritual trauma? Leanne attributes this, in part, to the reality of spiritual warfare.

More importantly, she points to the critical distinction: a parent’s faith is not your own. The crucial disconnect happens when someone is merely leaning on a parent’s relationship with God rather than having a deeply personal relationship with the Lord. If a person has not cultivated this individual connection, hurt experienced in life, or even in the church, can lead them to connect God with those painful things. Leanne courageously shared that she experienced this period of darkness and anger herself but found that when she turned back to the Lord, her relationship with her family and her peace were restored.

Biblical Accountability

The conversation then turned to the deeply complex topic of church trauma—the hurt caused by inappropriate or abusive behavior from those in ministry, including manipulation or extreme unkindness. While no one is perfect, Leanne reminds us that teachers are held to a higher standard. She understands why people, faced with such spiritual hurt, separate themselves from the church or even turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms like substance abuse.

The resolution, Leanne insists, is multifaceted but primarily requires churches to be preventatively prepared. The ultimate safeguard is biblical accountability. As parts of the same Body of Christ, believers must pour into one another and be "checking in on people". This active, mutual support—along with clear safeguards and training—helps protect the community and ensures those in leadership are held to the standard we all must strive for.

Grieving Well: Inviting the Consistent Comforter

Leanne concludes with the most comforting wisdom drawn from her faith and her work: Jesus is the only thing that is consistent and stable and unchanging. This unshakable nature is why He is the Rock that holds us up, preventing us from leaning on temporary, destructive things like addiction.

When asked what it means to grieve well, Leanne’s answer is beautiful in its simplicity: invite Him into it. She lovingly refutes the cultural pressure in some Christian circles to suppress sadness, reminding us that God is not only good, but He is also grieving with you. Grieving well is giving yourself grace, allowing yourself to feel the difficult emotions (even anger at the Lord), and still knowing that He is right there, the ultimate Comforter. Leanne leaves us with a beautiful final thought: God often uses the strength He imparts in our time of affliction to make us a comfort to others in theirs.

This conversation with Leanne White is a poignant reminder that even through deep loss, church hurt, or the constant shifting of life, our Anchor holds fast. What a magnificent encouragement to hold tight to our steadfast Savior!