Lisa Jamieson

of Walk Right In Ministries

There are so many amazing people in our community, going through hard stuff, navigating life, and making a difference along the way. We want to introduce them to you so you can be encouraged, inspired and above all, know that you aren’t alone.

Meet Lisa Jamieson of Walk Right In Ministries, today’s featured Wednesday Warrior. Read along to hear more of her families powerful story and how God has been “reframing” it along the way.

What life challenges have you/are you overcoming?

I was viciously bullied during middle school and still struggle sometimes to establish satisfying friendships. When my husband and I encountered a very stormy patch early in our marriage, we sought counseling and found significant personal and marriage healing through Christian temperament therapy. God used things we learned through that season to prepare us for parenting our third daughter who was born with profound disabilities (Angelman Syndrome). I am very grateful for the people, experiences and tools God keeps pouring into me. Life is often hard, as God tells us it will be, on this side of heaven. But I am learning to see it as an adventure in growing faith and grateful to be enjoying increasingly richer relationships with Jesus and others as each year goes by.

What is something that most people don’t know about you, but you want them to know?

My early childhood reads like a mashup novel from National Geographic, Little House on the Prairie and Epicurious magazine. I lived in four different states before I was 8 years old then moved to Canada when I was nine. I ice skated to 3rd grade on the James River in North Dakota but was catching smelt in Thirty Mile Creek beside our home in Ontario before starting grade four. I built blanket forts in the peach and cherry orchards of the Niagara Peninsula, collected maple sap in the spring, stomped grapes with the neighbors kids in the fall and ate fiddleheads and fresh-caught salmon on a regular basis. These idyllic memories helped shape my love for traveling, cooking and entertaining.

How has God helped you “Reframe” your perspective along the way?

I used to think adversity was something to be avoided or prayed away. Yet, I have come to realize that I learn and grow the most when I’m desperate and recognize my powerlessness apart from Jesus. I now see life’s challenges as an opportunity to discover the most profoundly important and satisfying things about this life.

What is your super-power?

Generating ideas is either a super-power or a compulsion for me. You might have to ask my family which it is.

What good has come out of your trial?

I am learning how to stay attentive to the Holy Spirit from moment to moment and follow Jesus into the world. God has opened doors for me to serve others through writing, speaking and discipleship with Walk Right In Ministries. I am now a licensed pastor counselor trained in the same Christian temperament therapy that transformed my marriage and parenting. And I’ve authored or co-authored several books and Bible studies. It’s been an incredible privilege and joy to see God using disability and other challenges for His glory and the good of many others beyond just my own family.

How has your faith changed along the way?

I believed in God from an early age and spent a lot of time writing songs and in a diary as a girl feeling alone and rejected. God felt far away, mysterious and not tangible at all until I was in my 30’s. It was during that time God revealed Himself to me through a remarkable expression of love from our church and community to Carly and our family. As they prayed for us and offered practical help, I sensed God’s presence in a deeply personal way. I was awakened to the realities of His nearness, accessibility and power. God no longer feels far away to me. I am very grateful to increasingly know Jesus as my ever-present and most intimate friend.

How has God used your story?

Parenting a child with disabilities and learning how to be part of a thriving marriage and family through adversity has given me and my family opportunities to encourage others in ways we never imagined. One thread I often see in my own story is loneliness. I am humbled and excited to see that God has turned heartaches from my past into great joy in my life. But even more, He keeps multiplying that into others. I often pray for others to catch a vision for the value of their own story because each of us is designed with a purpose and given unique platforms for pointing others to Jesus.

What is a highlight of your story?

God’s touch on my marriage is the highlight of my life. I have a wonderful husband and marriage. Larry is an absolutely incredible father too. This has not come easily for us. We fight every day for a good marriage and a resilient family. Following God’s call to make that our priority has been more rewarding than any other investment we’ve made and it continues to pay dividends. I never take my marriage for granted. With each anniversary — and we celebrated our 32nd this summer — I’m reminded of what we’ve endured together and what blessed victories we’ve won.

Find out more about Lisa and Walk Right In Ministries.

Facebook: Walk Right In Ministries

Instagram: Lisa Jamieson