The Forward to Mike’s New Book

My Story Isn’t Over

By Elizabeth Gish

It is not possible to say exactly what we learn from the people we love and who love us. The best we can do is tell stories and try to capture a little bit of the richness and depth that comes from such relationships, knowing our words and stories will always just be snapshots.

My story about Michael inviting me into the practices of service, fellowship, deep inquiry and careful study is one of thousands. This is what he does. He is relentless in his connecting, in his care and love, in his pushing and prodding, in his asking and searching and growing. I am so pleased that he has taken the time to write down a few snapshots that reflect this calling.

I have known Michael Nygren since I was fourteen years old. Our first interaction was at a youth group meeting. I was new to the youth group and trying to find my place — both in the youth group, but also in life. There were plans underway for a youth trip to Kentucky where we would help build a house for a family. The rules of the trip were: “Work Hard. Study Hard. Sleep Hard. Play Hard.” I liked the balance and simplicity of it. Even though I was nervous because I didn’t know many people in the youth group of about 200 teens, I signed up to go.

I loved building the house in Kentucky. I liked working on a team with other teens to do something meaningful. After failed efforts on the track team and volleyball team, I was glad to find an extracurricular activity that I was not bad at and connected to things I cared about. I appreciated that there were sessions during our trip where we would learn together with the other teens and adults, as well as from people in the town where we were staying. There were teachings and lessons that encouraged us to think about who we were and about who we could be. The teachings were not about believing the “right things,” but more about how to live our lives with others in a complicated world full of need. In the five day trip, there was so much opportunity to listen, reflect, share, work hard and connect. I had never really experienced something in my life where adults took teenagers seriously as people who mattered, who could think independently and who could make a difference in the world.

Michael and I talked some while we were building the house, and I soon joined his small group where we did a lot of the same things that we did on the trip: listening, learning, growing, connecting. I found him a little bit intimidating, but it was also exciting to be challenged and for someone to care so much about me. Sometimes we would go to breakfast together where he asked me about myself and who I wanted to be — things no one had ever asked me before. I really appreciated that he cared enough to ask and then listened so carefully when I responded.

One of Michael’s gifts is that he shares without expectation. He specializes in offering reflections, ideas, inquiries and conjecture; he finds it completely acceptable for people to take what they need and leave the rest. This is reflected in this book, and I would encourage readers to take in sections and stories that call to you, but not to feel like you must read the book from start to finish, agree with everything, or like every single story or idea. In many ways, each story is its own small invitation: to let go, to reflect, to wonder who you’d like to be, to consider what role community can play in our lives, and to imagine how we can do the difficult work of love and justice in a world that is in great need.

We live in a world where we need more stories about how things might be different than they are. I hope that readers will take what they need from these, finding ways to build on Michael’s vision to work toward a world we all long for.