A Student of Hope: Perspective from Brooke Turner in a Pandemic

My birthday is tomorrow, and to celebrate I'm rereleasing my favorite But Not All At Once episode yet. My dear friend Brooke Turner passed away six months ago this week, before COVID turned our world upside down. The cancer that took her is not her legacy, though. What she leaves behind is the astounding gift of fancying herself, amidst unexpected widowhood, cancer, infertility and overwhelming change, a "student of hope."Today's episode was recorded a year ago, cobbled together from multiple conversations as storms flickered overhead. One hour-long stretch of our recordings was lost, and we spent months determining how best to steward this part of her story. Our last texts were about how we'd get her story to you. The morning after she passed, I went back to find her missing file restored.Brooke's words have a fresh power in light of the pandemic that has made so many of our futures uncertain. The upheaval of work lives, new school decisions on the horizon, families separated for weeks on end - Brooke's own story aligns with what many of us face right now. Her faith as each unforeseen chapter unfolded will stun and inspire you.It's my hope that this episode gives you a taste of who Brooke was and what she believed, that I've done justice to the story she worked so hard to tell. You can find her support page at fb.com/brooketurnerwrites and see her Instagram posts at @brooketurnersc.Sam, Selah and Hannah Turner will grow up with their Aunt Liz, Uncle Jon and three cousins in the home their parents moved into during the Turners' "redemption summer." If you'd like to support their ongoing needs, please visit tinyurl.com/givetoTeamTurner.As always, you can join the conversation at @butnotallatonce on Instagram or reach me directly at [email protected] heartfelt thanks, now as in February, to Liz, Brooke's sister and best friend, for encouraging me to share her legacy with the world. What a gift to know this student of hope.Thanks for being here, y'all! I'd love to hear from you at @ButNotAllAtOnce on social media or via ButNotAllAtOnce.com.