Susie Austin
Susie and her husband (and our dear friend), Stan.
What’s your name?
Susie Austin
How do you spend your days? (family, work, hobbies)
When the weather is nice, you can find me in my garden. Right now, I’m immersed in puzzles and mindlessly scrolling my phone.
What part of town do you live in?
I live in the Fan.
How long have you been going to City Church?
I’ve been at City Church since we moved to Richmond in 2011.
How are you attending City Church these days?
Because of my age and health concerns, I ZOOM in on Sunday and watch the live-stream.
What did you expect from 2020 when it started?
2020 started with so much optimism. We had celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary. My husband, Stan, was recovering from a back injury that caused us to miss Christmas with our children and grandkids. We were planning a trip to Alaska so that he could show me places where he had worked. At the end of February, unexpectedly, Stan had a stroke and 10 days later he died. The next week we were in COVID-19 lockdown. As the Broadway play Hamilton says, “The world turned upside down”.
If you could describe 2020 in three words, what words would you choose?
Loss, quiet hope
What did the events of 2020 reveal to you about yourself and about Jesus?
The preschool class that I taught for Community Bible Study has not met in person since the start of the pandemic. I miss the certainty that my preschoolers had that “Jesus” (shouted) was the answer for EVERY question. They helped my faith when it was wobbly. Now, I channel my inner four-year-old and preach it to myself.
How have the events of 2020 pushed you to reimagine your story? How have they pushed you to reimagine your faith?
To quote Hamilton again, I thought we had more time. I was 20 years old when Stan and I married. I have never been an adult without him. So, I’m learning—trying to learn. I can do hard things; I can change a furnace filter.
The quotidian activities that gave my days structure are missing, and I miss them. I hope to find a way to hold less tightly onto things and the future that I imagined. Time feels less open-ended, and I want to value it more and invest more deeply into things that matter.
As far as my faith goes, I don’t know that it is “reimagined.” More likely strengthened, become more certain. The thought of living through this season of fear, suffering, and tragedy without the security of God who is loving, in all ways Good and in control is unimaginable. (HA! Hamilton, again!!)
I believe with all my heart that our God is not capricious, that our lives and our suffering matter to Him. Romans 5:3-5 assures me that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
Today I persevere….and so, I have hope.
What is your biggest hope for 2021?
My hope for 2021 is that I (we) would become more outwardly facing, discover more grace and kindness toward one another, and work harder to become the beloved community that we all need.