The Eric Metaxas Show - Ruth Graham

Episode Date: July 3, 2023

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Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Folks, welcome to the Eric Metaxus show, sponsored by Legacy Precious Metals. There's never been a better time to invest in precious metals. Visit legacy p.m.investments.com. That's legacy p.m.investments.com. Welcome to the Eric Metaxis show. Back again, eh? Glutton for punishment, eh? When will you ever learn?
Starting point is 00:00:30 Now, here's the host that you hate to love, the man who was the reason your friend sponsored your last intervention, Eric Matt, Texas. Hey folks, welcome to the program. A lot of times people ask me, Eric, why do you live in New York? And I say, well, one of the reasons I live in New York and do my show in New York is because people come to New York to do other shows. And then I can kind of, you know, grab them and say, why don't you come do this show? Such is the case, thank the Lord.
Starting point is 00:01:03 Today, I'm sitting here with one of the daughters. of Billy Graham, Ruth Graham, welcome to the program. Thank you, and I'm also Ruth Graham's daughter. How does that work? If you don't know, I'm not going to tell you. I never met your mother or your father.
Starting point is 00:01:22 I heard your father speak in person a couple of times, but I've met you a few times. I can't even remember. We were in a car ride together someplace. Texas. Texas. Was that in Texas? Thank you for remembering. But you... You're unforgettable.
Starting point is 00:01:37 Eric. Okay. Well, you you are one of the five children. That's right. Of your mother and father. And you are out with a book, which is what brings you to New York to talk about it.
Starting point is 00:01:54 The book is called transforming loneliness, deepening our relationships with God and others when we feel alone. So the first and obvious question is, why did you choose to write a book on the subject of loneliness. How did that
Starting point is 00:02:10 present itself to you? Eric, I have lived most of my adult life alone and I have had some profound experiences of loneliness. One, recently, six years ago, when I went in for surgery and it had to be redone and the girls dropped me off at the hospital which was far away from home and they left me and I knew I was in good hands and they knew I was in good hands, but there were complications. And I was by myself. No one, I couldn't reach for a glass of water. I couldn't pull the covers up close to my, you know, over me. So nobody was there. And I felt very much alone. And then, of course, when I went off to boarding school. And mother and daddy
Starting point is 00:02:56 sent me to New York. And I was... What? Wait a minute. You went to boarding school in New York, in New York? Where? On Long Island. Where? Stony Brook. You went to the Stony Brook School? No, I went to Stony Brook. Girl's School. I was only of one to six to ever graduate from that school. But I was so profoundly lonely because that was a school for, I don't want to be harsh, but bad girls from New York.
Starting point is 00:03:25 And it was a Christian school in that the faculty were Christians, but the students were not. And I was just lost. How old were you when your parents? When I went off first to boarding school, I was 13. Then I was 15 at this time. Now, this is interesting. A lot of people maybe wouldn't know that your mother came from a missionary background where it would be more commonly accepted to send the kids off to boarding school. Because most folks in America, that's kind of a foreign concept. But why do you suppose your parents chose to send you to, to this boarding school in far off New York? Well, at the time I had, for the first two years,
Starting point is 00:04:10 I had gone to school in Florida, and I loved it. But they felt like I was getting a negative attitude. It was very legalistic school. So they wanted me to be in New York, where Franklin was at the Stony Brook School. So they thought we would be together, and that would be a good thing for us. And they just didn't realize how miserable I was going to be.
Starting point is 00:04:30 And after that year, I went on to Gordon College at 16, skipping my senior year in high school. Are you that smart and you weren't going to tell us? No, I'm not. I was just, that was the only option they felt that they had for me. And so that's what I did. It was sink or swim. So I did two years and one.
Starting point is 00:04:47 So in Massachusetts, you were in Massachusetts as a very, very young woman. 16-year-old girl that had no clue what she wanted to be or do. And fortunately, I had a wonderful roommate who came from a normal family. And they embraced me and included me. and it made all the difference in the world. But that is extraordinary to learn that your parents would have sent you off to boarding school. It makes a little more sense when you say that Franklin was at the Stony Brook School. I'm amazed I didn't know that about him.
Starting point is 00:05:19 I've met your brother so many times, but the idea that he went to the Stony Brook School, which is a fine Christian school. I think he was kicked out. He was kicked out? We won't mention that. We're going to edit that out in post. Oh, no, don't. Edit that out. Edit that out.
Starting point is 00:05:33 We can't say anything bad about Franklin. No, that's... I can. No, of course I can. I joke around. I joke around. But it's, it is just interesting. And so that was your first experience, you say, with loneliness.
Starting point is 00:05:47 I think many people, of course, have experienced loneliness, and it's a terrible thing. Certainly. But you are a young girl, really. And I had to learn to rely on the Lord at that point. That's when my faith became my own, not my parents. I really had to walk with the Lord during that time because I was so lonely and so miserable. But the Lord saw me through it and I'm very grateful.
Starting point is 00:06:12 It's interesting, of course, how the Lord uses these horrible experiences to sometimes to deepen our faith and our reliance on him, Romans 828. But also just nonetheless, I mean, lots of people then have experienced loneliness but to write a book about it, what was it that made you say, I've experienced this enough, or this is important enough to me that I actually want to write a book about it?
Starting point is 00:06:41 And you've written many books, but why this subject for a book? Well, so many people are lonely. 54% of Americans feel like no one knows them well. 44% and this is according to the UCLA loneliness scale, 44% feel that they are alone, that they're lonely. So there are a lot of people that are lonely, but you know there's a shame attached to it. No one wants to admit that they're lonely.
Starting point is 00:07:08 Experts have found that it's easier for people to talk about depression than loneliness. And I found that to be true. I remember I was doing research for the book and I was reading books about loneliness and I was traveling to a speaking engagement and I took a book that had loneliness in the title. And I thought, well, I'll read it on the plane.
Starting point is 00:07:28 And so I started to take it out on my bag And I thought, the man sitting next to me is going to think I'm lonely. And I don't want him to think that. So I put it back in my bag because there's a shame to it. We feel like we're deficient, that something's inadequate in us. And so we don't talk about it. And yet we experience it. And loneliness itself can be circumstantial.
Starting point is 00:07:52 And you can get over it. There is solitude, which is healthy. We need that to reconsider it. calibrate and sort of get alone with God and ourselves. And then there's isolation, which in our society is considered the worst form of punishment other than death that we can meet out. So loneliness has lots of components, but loneliness when it is left unchecked leads to depression, bad eating habits, suicide. And it's not a USA problem. It's a worldwide problem. When Teresa May was Prime Minister of England, she appointed a minister of loneliness to her cabinet. And
Starting point is 00:08:35 Japan suffers an epidemic of lonely deaths where people die and nobody knows until the stench reaches their neighbor's door. So it's a worldwide problem. That's very depressing what you just said, my goodness. The idea of loneliness, as you say, what's particularly interesting, to me is the idea that if someone is lonely that they would be somehow ashamed, that shame would
Starting point is 00:09:09 creep into it. And so you, it's, I mean it's really, it's kind of how the devil works, isn't it? To be blaming yourself or being ashamed. Nonetheless, really, to
Starting point is 00:09:25 write a book on it, I think it's a very kind of brave and a big deal that you wrote a book about it because it is a very important subject. When did you decide to write a book about it? Did something happen? I don't know that anything happened, but it was sort of the next step in my journey. Most of my books have been about experiences that I've had. And Governor Huckabee asked me one time, he said, Ruth, what's your next book about? And I said, well, actually, all my books have been about experiences and I don't want any more experiences.
Starting point is 00:10:00 Right, right. So, but I really felt that this was a subject that was close to my heart and a necessary subject to be addressed. All right. We'll be right back. I'm talking to Ruth Graham. The book is transforming loneliness. Every day, the parallel economy grows bigger and bigger.
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Starting point is 00:12:01 Visit legacy pminvestments.com to get started. You're going to love this free new tool they've added. LegacyPMinvestments.com. Legacy pm investments.com. Check it out. Welcome back. I'm talking to Ruth Graham. The book is transforming loneliness.
Starting point is 00:12:33 deepening our relationships with God and others when we feel alone. Ruth, it's interesting. Oftentimes, if you present a problem to a Christian, you'll get kind of like a Band-Aid answer. Like, well, you know, just turn to the Lord. He's with you or something, which is true. But oftentimes those kinds of answers aren't practical. We, I think, sometimes forget that God is a practical God.
Starting point is 00:13:03 He made us in his image and we're supposed to live in this world and it's not all this ethereal stuff. So practically speaking, I know you deal with that. What do you say about how to deal with loneliness? Well, I use an acronym, R-E-A-C-H, recognize and evaluate your symptoms and sources of loneliness. And then express it to one other and to God. one other trusted person, maybe a pastor, an older person, and tell them that you're lonely. Not too long ago, a young woman came into my office and said, I'm lonely. And I was so glad that she did because then we could begin to work on that.
Starting point is 00:13:44 And then anticipate that God can transform your loneliness because he can. And then get into community. You've got to connect with a community, whether it be church, because certainly the decline in church attendance has made loneliness. much worse. Go to a gym class, go to a book club, whatever it is that you need to connect to community, do it. And then honor God with your loneliness. And you just simply say, God, here it is. I don't like being lonely, but if you would take it and somehow use it in my life for your glory, and he will do that. I remember when the kids were little, we lived in Texas
Starting point is 00:14:29 on what some people called a ranch, and we called it a farm, just a little farm. And my husband decided he was going to go hunting on Christmas Day with James Robinson. I was so mad at both of them because this was a family day. I'm mad at James, just thinking about it. James, what's wrong with you hunting on Christmas Day? I've held it over his head for years. I know, I know James, so I can joke. But your husband was going to go hunting on Christmas Day.
Starting point is 00:14:57 Yes. And he said he would stay through lunch. So we had the gifts and the stockings and the lunch. And then he waved and be goodbye. And I was just furious. I don't think the kids were aware that I was so angry. But I thought, well, I've got half a day left. What do I do?
Starting point is 00:15:13 Well, I thought, well, I clean up the dishes and I'll pick up the house and eventually put the kids to bed. And I said, well, I've got a long evening. Well, I'd received some presents. And I thought, well, I'll write thank you notes and get that off my list. So I wrote thank you notes. I still had an evening left. Christmas Day. Christmas Day.
Starting point is 00:15:32 I'm mad just thinking about this. Wait till I see James Robeson again. I'm going to bring this up. Is this many, many years ago? Yeah, many years. The kids were little. Okay. And then I thought, well, you know, I have a piano in the living room.
Starting point is 00:15:45 I can find Middle Sea. But I thought, well, I can plunk out some Christmas carols. And so I plunked out some Christmas carols. And I came to the carol. I'm going to cry. You're alone on Christmas Day playing Christmas. It's almost like it makes it worse. No, actually, I sat there and I was worshipping the Lord.
Starting point is 00:16:04 Oh, that's different. And that transformed my loneliness and my anger. And if you were to ask me today, what was my happiest Christmas memory? That would be it. Because I really met the Lord. The Lord met me in my loneliness. Wow. I want to know what were they hunting that took them away from their families on that day.
Starting point is 00:16:24 You'll have to ask James. Hunting for birds? Wait until I talked to James. and Betty. That's beautiful. That really is beautiful. But it's interesting because you've just shared something. Almost everyone has experienced something very similar to what you've just shared.
Starting point is 00:16:42 And by you're sharing it, you make me feel less strange or alone because I realize I'm not the only one that's had that experience. And it's that more painful if it's the people that you love because you lean on them the most. So if they step away for good reasons or ill, it hurts the most. So that's an amazing, do you write about that in the book? Yes, I do. You mentioned James by name? I don't know. I mentioned James or not. We know who you are. We know where you live. Oh, I have told him over and over again. That's amazing. I still want to know what they were hunting on Christmas Day. So, but so the acronym, this is chapter nine. The acronym is Reach R-E-A-C-H.
Starting point is 00:17:27 obviously people can read about it in the book. But tell me again what those letters stand for. R is to recognize your sources and symptoms of loneliness. E is to express it to God into one other person, one other trusted person. A, anticipate that God will transform your loneliness. C is connect with a community because, you know, God is in community. And we were built for community. It's in our DNA. And then A. honor God with your loneliness. And how does one do that? I want to talk about community,
Starting point is 00:18:02 but to honor God, what do you mean by that? Well, you simply give it to him. And like I just told you the story, of just worshiping him, you know, and just saying, okay, God, I'm lonely. I could make this a whole lot worse and be just angry and stewing my anger,
Starting point is 00:18:18 or I could just give it to you and see what you do with it. And he made it a happy Christmas for me. That is, it's just so beautiful. when you talk about community, obviously the C in R-A-A-C-H, that's a big one that there are people who, for some reason, aren't involved in a church. You know, I would say it to almost anybody. Like, you should just go, find a church, find a place that you can be a part of that community. There's just something healthy about that.
Starting point is 00:18:52 but a lot of times maybe people don't, or they fear rejection maybe? Is that what it is? They feel like they're going to show up and nobody's going to greet them? But don't we all feel that way? If we feel like we're a stranger, if we're all, I mean, we just hesitate.
Starting point is 00:19:09 I remember when I was first divorced and I was on a board of a school and I had to go to an event by myself. And I really had to just sort of grit my teeth and go, just make yourself go. and you know you get yourself a glass of club soda with some lime in it and you try to mingle along and I just hated every minute of it but you do it and the first time is the hardest but then gradually you sort of begin to do it and and like I said I've been alone most of my adult life so I've had to
Starting point is 00:19:39 do things by myself and I like myself I like my company and I like my cat a pet helps too Okay, yeah, well, that's, you know, you talk about practicality. There's no doubt about that. There is just no doubt about that that pets help loneliness. Now, to be clear, I didn't say this, you live in Virginia. You have three grown children, and it says nine terrific grandchildren. Yes. Any rotten kids that you're not mentioning here?
Starting point is 00:20:10 They're all terrific. They're all terrific. All of them, their individuality, they're just, they're all different. one of them has tattoos from head to his toe and he's just a small. Was he born that way? No, no, he wasn't born. Oh, this was a choice. And he's, but he's brilliant.
Starting point is 00:20:27 And actually, he's coming up this afternoon, hopefully, to have dinner with us. He lives in Philadelphia. And then the rest of them are, you know, working their way through life. I have a granddaughter who was hit head on by a tractor trailer, and she's trying to recover from that. It's been a long go. but she's an EMT and she's determined to be a fireman. I don't know whether she's going to be able to do that or not, but she's determined.
Starting point is 00:20:52 And the rest of them are plugging through school. Nine terrific. Whenever anybody says, you know, most bios say something like that. You know, three terrific kids, and I like it, and just three, like, is there one you're not mentioning? No. Three grown children, nine terrific grandchildren. And you said before that you were in a conversation with Governor Hockaby about, you know, he was asking you about your next book.
Starting point is 00:21:14 and you talked about how you write about your experiences. And you've been beautifully transparent about your life and your experiences over the years. And that's just so valuable and so rare. I mean, even writing about this, people need that. Because I think a lot of people would assume, like, oh, it's Billy Graham's daughter. She must have, you know, great life. You're just like everyone else. There's ups and downs and stuff.
Starting point is 00:21:44 but you have been public about that and honest about that. What other experiences when you mentioned that you've written all these books? I mean, I know you've written 10 books, but what other experiences have you touched on in your books? Well, I did in every pew sits a broken heart, which really for me was I was the person in the pew with a broken heart. And I was not allowed to have a broken heart. I was going through a divorce.
Starting point is 00:22:11 And at that time, you just didn't do that. especially in the Christian church, and I was told that if I divorced my husband, who had been unfaithful for years, that I would hurt thousands of people. Well, and I was told to add another bedroom to the house and just live with it, but I couldn't do that. That wasn't honest, and I said, I can't do that. Well, that created a whole other mess. So I knew there were people sitting in the pew with a broken heart, and they needed to have, a voice and I felt like I could give him a voice. I want to talk more to you about that.
Starting point is 00:22:48 That's extraordinary. We're talking to Ruth Graham. The new book is transforming loneliness. Tell me why Relief Factor is so successful at lowering or eliminating pain. I'm often asked that question just the other night. I was asked that question. Well, the owners of Relief Factor tell me they believe our bodies were designed to heal. That's right.
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Starting point is 00:25:12 Welcome back talking to Ruth Graham. The new book is transforming loneliness. And we were just talking, Ruth, about your various experiences. You've been really transparent in writing about your own brokenness and your own struggles, which is so beautiful that you're not just able, but willing to do that, that you did that. And you were just talking about your book, in every pew sits a broken heart,
Starting point is 00:25:51 and how you were in the process of divorcing your husband. You said he'd been unfaithful for years. But it's so fascinating to me that, to me, that's biblical grounds for divorce. But that there were people, and, you know, anybody who's been in the, The church for a long time knows this, but there are people that can be very religious in the most negative sense and judgmental. And so there were people saying to you what, that that's not grounds for divorce?
Starting point is 00:26:22 I mean, it's not clear to me what the objection would be. They just thought I should forgive. Well, we always should forgive, but that's a separate issue. Absolutely, but I didn't know that at the time. I have come to understand. They didn't know that. They didn't know that. And I didn't either.
Starting point is 00:26:36 because reconciliation is conditioned on the changed behavior, and forgiveness is unconditional. And I could forgive him, but I just couldn't reconcile. He had broken my trust and my heart. And I did not see the changed behavior that was necessary for me. And so I did divorce him. And that created a whole spiral of negative things that I ended up with a rebound marriage that lasted for three months. and I became afraid of that man and fled and he divorced me.
Starting point is 00:27:12 But Eric, my father was gone when I was a little girl, a lot. And as a little girl, I wanted a daddy to tuck me in bed. I wanted him to teach me to ride a bicycle. And when I needed him the most, he was the farthest away. And I would have told you that Jesus was my security. But he really wasn't deep down inside where the secrets. are kept. And so I was looking for security. So I married the second man and that ended in divorce. And then I married a third man who was the love of my life. He was my best friend. We had a wonderful
Starting point is 00:27:51 time together until we didn't. And he decided he didn't want to be married anymore. And he divorced me. And I thought, okay, that's good. I'm settled. That's it. But then a man who was a counselor and a pastor and who had helped my daughter through her belief. in. He knew all the right buttons to push. And I fell madly in love with him and married him. And turns out he was a narcissistic sociopath. And he was in a car accident. And when I was helping him recover from that, he had spent me into a hundred thousand dollars worth of debt. And I said, I have to move into a smaller house in a cheaper community. And he wouldn't do that. And so when I finally said, because the house was mine, I said, I'm going to have to sell the house.
Starting point is 00:28:39 And he said, that I'm going to divorce you. And he did. Oh, my goodness. So four divorces, and I thought, what is wrong with me? You know, was I even saved? And I write about this extensively in my book, forgiving my father, forgiving myself. Because his... When did that come out? That came out two years before this one. And... So recently? Recently. And I just... I didn't know what to do with myself, but a friend of mine, I was having a conversation with him in Nashville,
Starting point is 00:29:11 and he said, Ruth, he said, you felt abandoned as a little girl. And I thought, you know, I had been through thousands of dollars worth of therapy, and nobody had ever said that to me. And I denied it. But immediately I knew that that piece fit the puzzle. And I have never had a problem with it since. I've been cured. But, I mean, that's extraordinary. to hear your story.
Starting point is 00:29:37 I was not really aware of the painful drama that you just laid out of your life that you have suffered. And a lot of people suffer, but to in some sense be a public figure because of who your father is, it makes it the more difficult it would seem to me. So it's all the more extraordinary to me
Starting point is 00:30:03 that you would write about it for all those others out there who are dealing with very similar things. Well, I share it because when I make myself vulnerable, that gives people permission to make themselves vulnerable. And that's when ministry really takes place. And so right now, the Lord has called me into prison ministry and to be able to teach these books loneliness, actually prisoners contributed to my loneliness book. And to teach them the forgiveness book via Zoom in Mississippi and West Virginia, and to see the lights go on that they could forgive themselves. I mean, that is such a blessing to me. And had I not shared those things, those prisoners would
Starting point is 00:30:48 never have related to me in any way. And I'm very grateful for that opportunity. Well, again, it's just so beautiful to me that you have bravely been willing to be transparent about this because, you know, again, you don't hear it said very often, but people suffer, people struggle. Most people do. Christian people do. And Christian people do. And Christian people with the ultimate Christian pedigree of being, you know, the daughter
Starting point is 00:31:19 of Billy Graham do, we do. And not that I'm the daughter of Billy Graham, but we, you know, we do. And the idea that, you know, you have been so open about it and that you're even, you're using it to minister today, you know, again, it just blesses me. But Eric, let me say that my father was my hero. And I know in any way. Well, we'll come back. And I want to talk to you about that. Look, he's my hero, too. And I know where you're going with that at least a little bit. We'll be right back talking to Ruth Graham. The book is transforming loneliness. With the overturn of Roe v. Wade, lots of companies are coming out saying they'll pay for employee abortion travel and expenses. Most of you've heard about some of these companies.
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Starting point is 00:33:11 Welcome back. Folks, I've got the joy in the honor of speaking with Ruth Graham, the author of transforming loneliness, and many other books were talking about them. You just said before we went to the break, Ruth, that your father was your hero. Yes. And he, I don't, in no way blame him. I made my own choices. My father loved me unconditionally, and I knew that without a shadow of a doubt. And the best illustration I could possibly give was the one I gave at his funeral, where, I had had this rebound marriage. My parents had warned me against it. And I was fleeing the state to get away from this man. And I had to call my parents and say, because they had warned me, don't do this. And we live on the side of a mountain. I wound up the driveway. And he was standing in the driveway waiting for me when I got home. And when I got out of the car, he wrapped his arms around me. And he said, welcome home. No condemnation. No, I told you so. No. nothing, just unconditional love. And that grace, Eric, changed my life. Well, you know, that's extraordinary. He showed me what God the father was like that day. Yeah, that's kind of a big deal. Kind of a big deal. It's, I mean, it's interesting because, you know, a lot of people who are doing good
Starting point is 00:34:52 things and great things, even for the Lord, like your father, that there can be a down. The fact that he was away so much, so many people's lives were touched, and yet you can't do that and be home to tuck in your kids. That's right. And that was also somewhat of a different era where fathers were often absent. And so that bears, that has effects. Of course it does. And he said that in his memoir. You know, he said, I know that my absences had repercussions in my children's lives.
Starting point is 00:35:28 and it certainly did in my life. Yeah. I mean, I know Franklin and your sister, Ann, and I imagine it would have affected them in different ways as well. Everybody's affected differently because we're all different. There's just no way around it. So you, I mean, do you think that you're more sensitive or what do you? You know, I always wonder because every kid is different.
Starting point is 00:35:54 It's just fascinating to me. I once told my father, you have five children. And I said, Gigi will make a plan and will organize the plan. I will get out of the way. Franklin will tell us we can't do it. And Ned will tell intellectualize it all. And he looked at me, he had this little glint in his eye and he said, you're right. So we're all different.
Starting point is 00:36:15 And I am the one in the middle and I'm most like my father. Is that right? In what sense? What do you mean? I have, I'm more intuitive. And I'm an interesting. He was. He had to learn to do small talk, but he wasn't. Nobody would know that. Do you know what I'm saying? In other words, that coming from my perspective outside, the idea that your father was an introvert. My brother Franklin is an introvert, and he's a shy person. But he also has my mother's quick wit. And Gigi has my mother's quick wit. And Anne has my father's discipline and fire for.
Starting point is 00:36:58 for the word of God. And Ned's just an intellectual. He's just so smart. When you talk about your father being an introvert, or what else did you say? He's sensitive. Introspective. It's interesting because
Starting point is 00:37:15 most of us know your father behind the pulpit, and you don't think of that guy as being introspective. I shouldn't maybe say the word introspective. but he's more of an introvert.
Starting point is 00:37:30 Yeah. And intuitive. Intuitive. Yeah, he felt things. He really did. He didn't often talk things about things, but he felt them. Yeah. Well, I mean, he was so really theatrical,
Starting point is 00:37:47 especially earlier in his ministry, in the way that he presented. And, you know, you hear that sometimes about actors, right, that you can be publicly one way and you can be very different off stage. And there's a similarity there. I don't mean to disrespect the evangelistic call as though it's acting. But there's an element of that because you're in public and something happens. I mean, I do a lot of public speaking or preaching. And something happens in that moment.
Starting point is 00:38:21 But then when you go off alone, it's another story. And you often hear about people who are known public. figures who are particularly lonely in their lives. Not that your father. Well, and I wrote a book about him years ago called Legacy of Faith, and I wrote in there that I was often more warmed by the embers than I ever was by the fire. Wow. That's good. Did you put that in the book? I did it in that book. I did in that book, yes. But no, that is just, it is interesting. He gentled down as he got older. And I appreciated that. And when mother died, we didn't quite know what would happen because they were so reliant on each other. And we thought, well, something all happened to Daddy. And for two years,
Starting point is 00:39:09 there was like the lights were on, but nobody was home. But then it became aware that when we would go to see him, we used to go see mother. And if Daddy was home, that was fine. But now we went home to see him, and we got to know him, and he got to know us in a way that he hadn't before. And it was really a precious time. And Eric, I missed. my father every day. And this nation misses him every day. Well, yeah. And he, you know, he was gone for the rest of us before he was gone in the sense that he wasn't in the public life. I never met your father. I tried a couple of times and somehow it didn't work out. But he, I remember he preached when I was at Yale in the 80s, he came there to preach.
Starting point is 00:40:00 And I had temporarily withdrawn from the Christian group on campus. And I saw them all walking in with Billy Graham to have a private dinner. And I thought, and I never got to meet your father. You will in heaven. Well, of course we will. Of course we will. We're almost out of time. We are out of time.
Starting point is 00:40:24 So I just want to say thank you, Ruth Graham, for the new book, Transforming Loneliness, and for all of your books, and again, for your beautiful transparency, which really does minister to people. It's just delightful to think that you have transformed your heartache into something that can bless other people, which it does. So thank you for today, and thank you for the book and for all the books. Thank you. This is one of the most important things we talk about on this program. We don't talk about it enough. But the money that you have in pension funds, 4-1Ks, whatever it is, is effectively being controlled by people who are working against you and your values.
Starting point is 00:41:39 A lot of us have money in funds that invest in, oh, Target, Amazon, you name it, all kinds of companies that are working dramatically against everything you believe in. So it's time that we wake up. We understand the financial power that we have and pull our money out of these kinds of places, which is why I have as my guest, the founder and CEO of Inspire on the program, Robert Netsley. Robert, we've talked about this before, but the power that we have, financially is huge. But the reason things have gone to hell in a handbasket is because most of us don't
Starting point is 00:42:26 have a clue that we have this power. We kind of act like it's a separate thing. And I go and I vote, you know, every two years or something. But every single day, tons of our money is being used against us because of our investments. So before I let you talk, I want to tell people to go to InspireAdvisors.com. slash Eric, where you can fix this. You can find out what's happening with your money. InspireAdvisors.com slash Eric.
Starting point is 00:42:59 Robert Nessley, when did you wake up to this and say, I want to solve this? Because this is as big as it gets. Well, it was about 12 years ago when I was working at Wolfs Fargo Investment Services. And I got, you know, kicking the rear end by discovery that I, here I am president to our local pro-life pregnancy center. and I own three stocks of companies manufacturing abortion drugs. And the Holy Spirit just convict me on this issue that here I am, you know, fighting to save the lives of these precious unborn, and yet I'm making money every time somebody has an abortion.
Starting point is 00:43:30 And then you go down the laundry list of all these other issues, LGBT activism and human trafficking, you know, et cetera, et cetera, launched us into what we're doing now. And, you know, by God's grace, millions upon millions of Christians and other conservatives with similar values are waking up to the fact, uncomfortable fact that in your investment account, you own, and are profiting from things that would make your stomach char. And not only that, but because of the fund companies that you have your money placed in, those fund companies get to vote for the issues of these companies promote things like we're seeing in the news with Target and others. That's your money at work, but it's at work against you.
Starting point is 00:44:10 But it doesn't have to be that way. So that free report and that there's a way to fix it. It's very easy. Just got to be aware and take some simple steps. and we're putting some free work and reports out for listeners here, InspiredVisors.com slash Eric, like you mentioned. So people are informed and aware of what they can do to fix this because we don't fix it. If you just sit there blindly going along, like,
Starting point is 00:44:32 that's going to get better. It's going to all get worse. And frankly, it's going to be your fault for not doing anything. You know, we've got to do something about it and, you know, let God have the results. But we can't just sit here and do nothing because that's how we got here in first place. we've all got to become activists we've all got to I think a lot of us just thought like well I'm just going to go along in my life and you know I go to church on Sunday and well folks there are things you need to do and if you don't do it you're responsible for things going to hell in a hand basket so I want to ask you please first of all this is free okay this is this is free inspire advisors.com slash Eric this is the solution every single one of us needs to get our dollars and cents out of these places with a satanic agenda. Inspireadvisors.com slash Eric.
Starting point is 00:45:27 When you go there, you will see that this is not going to cost you anything. They're there to help you. And I just wish everyone would do this. I'll say it again, inspireadvisors.com slash Eric, inspireadvisors.com slash Eric. Inspireadvisors.com slash Eric. Robert Nessley, thank you so much. Thank you.

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