My Morning with a Rabbi and a Just a Touch of Eyeliner

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I am vacationing with all my men this week, which means coffee and books and naps and zero wifi.  So I’m hitting up the blog with some old favorites of mine. 

See you next week with new ideas and a new outlook on life.  Margin is a wonderful thing.

~ ~ ~

I have a killer publicist, and she’s seriously so good at her job.  So in this launch of You Can Do This, my schedule has been fast and furious with podcasts, radio interviews, and hosts of various platforms.  Katie keeps me well-versed on where to be at what time, with pre-instructions and post-notes for where I’m going and where I’ve been.

I say all of that to say two things: publicists are awesome, and occasionally I miss details.

On my schedule today was an interview on Igniting a Nation, with the Rev. Rabbi Eric Walker on his show, Revealing the Truth.  I was intrigued by the opportunity to speak with a Rabbi, and I planned my day around it.

Most of the interviews I’ve been invited to have either been on the landline or on a Skype video, and then the producers use just the audio.  So it hardly matters what I’m wearing, just that I’m presentable.  I got dressed in a t-shirt, jeans, and flip-flops, I put on a touch of eyeliner, and I whisked my boys out the door to their summer day camp.  I came back home, opted to skip yoga, and I settled in for a Skype interview. Perhaps you can imagine my shock when the Rev. Rabbi said, “Good morning, Tricia, is this your first time on live TV?”

(Ahem.)  I’m sorry, what?  Live TV?

Well, no, it’s not my first time on live TV.   But other times, I’ve been a little more… prepared.  Polished, if you will.

I quickly whisked my laptop to another angle in the dining room so that our wedding photos weren’t on display in the background.  I was desperately thankful I had opted out of yoga moments ago, and I have never been more thankful for that little touch of eyeliner. Seriously, my face disappears without it.  I have the blessing of second-day hair, but I have the curse of blond eyelashes.

(I mean, not that I pay attention to such superficiality.  But if I did, I would notice such things.  Just maybe perhaps.)

Anyway, pride aside, I settled in for an interview with this renowned scholar.  You guys, it was one remarkable hour.  Seriously.  That man, in all his wisdom and reverence, offered insights into my story that I had never seen before.  He recognized the heart of the book, and he spoke so much truth and affirmation into my story.

For example, I recently received a halfway-negative review when someone wrote their disappointment that my book isn’t grounded more in Scripture. The reader felt like it was a secular book, the title didn’t match the content, and it wasn’t supported biblically.  To my great delight, the Rabbi addressed this specifically.  (For this great insight, jump to 29:00.)

And, he discussed my story about the first bully of my life, Mrs. Wretched.  He brought so much insight into that story, that I’ll forever see it differently.  (For this moment that altered my thinking forever, jump to 39:30.)

(Please notice the eyeliner.  It’s all I had going for me.  That, and what the good Lord gave me.)

I’m telling you, my time with him was remarkable.

Thank you, Rev. Rabbi.  Your wisdom is astounding, your interview is engaging, and your blessing is my delight.

Tricia Lott Williford

Comments are closed

  1. Loved the interview! You are such a savvy communicator! And LIVE no less! What a professional you are. Your answers to his questions and comments were so spot-on! And like one of the other commenters… I was blown away by what you said regarding John the Baptist being told “no”! Wow! That brought huge revelation and clarity! I want to relisten to that part!
    PS…. eyeliner was bringing it!!

  2. This was one of the best 53 minutes of my year! 🙂 I’ve been following your story since Rob passed away and have loved getting to know you more and more. God bless you and Peter and the boys.

  3. I have never seen an interviewer more invested in someone’s story. He is so intently looking and listening to you and you with him. This was not just an interview it is a mentoring session the likes I have never seen.

  4. Thoroughly was blessed by this interview,

  5. ooops didn’t backspace far enough “your.”

  6. Tricia, I have to tell you, that fresh face, your glowing smile, and the miraculous wonder of God’s love shining through, is ALL you need. God bless you, young lady. You’r accomplishments sparkle.

  7. Great interview. New insight for your readers. Nice job Tricia. May God continue to bless you and your family.

  8. For over 7 years now as I’ve read through the New Testament many times, I’ve wept because God said YES to the healing of so many people, yet He did not heal my husband. Never once did I recognize that He said no to the man that he designed to be Jesus’ own earthly cousin. I cannot tell you how much that hit me in my heart. A God moment. A moment of realization. Now I must spend some time processing through it.

    As the rabbi gave enlightenment on your story with 4th grade teacher Mrs. Wretched and showed how God used her to prepare you for the death of your husband when you were 31 years old, it has made me pause and begin to look back at my own story to see what God did in my life to prepare me to become a widow at the young age of 57. Here is yet another thing for me to process,

    There are no words to thank you for sharing this interview today. I’ve been struggling with my grief so much this summer. When He knows the time is right, God slowly peels back the layers of the onion of my life revealing one truth at a time.

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