Author Interview: Leigh McLeroy
You say that Treasured brings God close. How so?
Treasured brings God close the way the incarnation brought God close. When Jesus became a man, he entered our world – Eugene Peterson’s The Message says flesh and blood “moved into the neighborhood.” And because we have a God who inhabited flesh and created heaven and earth and all that it holds – it only makes sense that we might experience him through created things. The psalmist said the heavens tell of the glory of God – but the earth does, too. So when we take the time to examine and reflect upon the tangible evidence of his presence and his love, we are drawn to him in a personal, experiential way. He is not and has never been a far-away God – he’s a God who came close, and stays close: closer than our next breath.
I remember you mentioning that the idea for the book started with you receiving a box of your grandfather’s mementos after he passed away. What did you learn about him from that?
In the first chapter of Treasured I describe the contents of an old cigar box I received after my grandfather’s death. The aunt who sent it probably never imagined it would mean so much to me – but every small thing in that collection of his told me something about him. That he kept keys, even years after he was allowed to drive, or had a house of his own. That he had lathered his face with an old bristle shaving brush, and that he kept the business card I gave him from my first job out of college. It was still in his wallet. Opening that box and seeing those common, everyday things made him even more real to me. You can tell a lot about people by the things they keep. And it occurred to me that God was a collector of sorts, too – that his book is filled with tangible objects that tell a story – His story. That was the genesis of this book. Its original working title was God’s Cigar Box, which I liked a lot – but publishers were afraid it might scare people off by implying that “God smokes.” So the title became Treasured, but the concept is the same.
Why is it important to have tangible reminders of God’s love and faithfulness?
Sometimes we need something to help us remember – a rubber band around the wrist, or a sticky note on the mirror. When the children of Israel finally crossed the Jordan River to inhabit Canaan, they were instructed to gather stones from the river bed and assemble them on the other side as a monument to God’s faithfulness. Then when their children asked, “What do those stones mean?” they could recount the story of their deliverance, and celebrate again God’s goodness toward them. There were twelve stones gathered from the river that day, and there are twelve “treasures” in this book, as well as twelve keepsakes of my own described in the final chapter.
Can you give a few examples from your book of the treasures that God keeps? And what do these reveal?
Sure. Actually, each chapter focuses on a single “treasure” from God’s story, unpacking its meaning and considering what it might say about God’s character. For example, there is a fig leaf from Eden – a reminder of the way God covers me, a fresh olive sprig brought back by a dove to Noah on the ark – a reminder that God is a God of new beginnings, and a bit of scarlet thread from Rahab’s house in Jericho – a reminder that our God is a God who includes. There’s also a bell from the hem of the high priest’s robe, and a string from a shepherd’s harp. In each case these treasures have a story of their own that not only fits into God’s great redemptive story – but that helps me understand my own story as well.
How does Treasured remind us that God is active in our lives?
When I see his involvement in the lives of his people I have to believe that he is no less involved in my own life. And that is thrilling to me. I can consider Hagar’s water skin and be reminded of how he knew my whereabouts in the wilderness, too, and gave me just what I needed when I thought I couldn’t go another step. And when I imagine a young singer-shepherd named David being cast against type as a soldier-king, I am more comfortable in those times when I feel less-than-equipped and wonder at the wisdom of God’s calling on my life. He hasn’t changed. His character hasn’t changed. What he was to Hagar and David and Ruth and Rahab, he is to me.
What are some of your own “treasures” that you keep?
The last chapter of Treasured inventories a dozen treasures of my own story…mementos of my walk with God that are personal and unique, and insignificant to anyone but me. The chapter was added to the original outline – I hadn’t planned it, but once the book was near done, it just made sense. And not to tell people about my “stuff” – but to prompt them to consider their own treasures, and to experience God in their own story! So…I have my first tiny Bible, complete with a rip in the spine and a pen mark on the picture of Jesus’ crucifixion. (I got a spanking for that.) There’s a laminated holy card given to me by a girl in a Bible study I taught for years, a glass box of ashes, a paper thin leaf and a handful of feathers. Pretty ordinary, right? But full of meaning between God and me. They’re the things that make the story mine. Yours would be different, but they would tell your story just as well.
How can readers put together their own collection of treasures? Is that something families could do together?
I would love it if Treasured inspired individuals or families to collect keepsakes of their relationship to God. There is also a short reader’s guide at the end of the book that suggests ways you might begin your own collection. And, I put up a Treasured public page on Facebook with a discussion thread called “What’s in your box?” where several readers have already shared a few of their treasures and what they mean. I love reading these!
How can we get more information about you and your book?
I have a website, http://www.leighmcleroy.com/ that gives information about my writing and speaking, a public “Leigh McLeroy” page on Facebook, and the Treasured Facebook page. And of course, the book is available through the normal retail channels and online – also as an e-book at RandomHouse.com.