My conversation with Madeleine L'Engle, author of "A Wrinkle in Time"

My life was shaped greatly by Madeleine L'Engle both as a writer and as a follower of Jesus Christ.  Lately I've spent time pondering my own personal testimony -- about the many ways I see God's hand shaping the course of my life -- through individuals, and circumstances.

The testimony of how L'Engle entered my life and her ensuing influence is one that ranks right up there.  And it comes more into focus now because her greatest novel, "A Wrinkle in Time" opens as a major motion picture this Saturday, March 9.

Hopefully, Hollywood stays true to her book, because by her own admission, "A Wrinkle in Time" was from God, "a good work." Published in 1962 after being rejected by publishers for ten years, "Wrinkle" is a story about three children who fight an evil force threatening their planet.

My testimony of my writing career being shaped by her is one for another blog.  L'Engle has been dead for eleven years, but it is a great testimony to her, and her writing that "Wrinkle" is surfacing as a movie after all of these years.  I didn't read this book until I was an adult and felt the impact immediately as to the depth of her message, and the simplicity and grace of her storytelling, and I feel in many ways the timing of this movie is the Lord's.

 My meeting with her happened rather randomly.  Don't all divine appointments fall as a suddenly?  This one did!  It happened nearly ten years ago when she was in Portland conducting a writer's conference. At the time I didn't have the money to go to the conference, but I did go to her free Friday night "open to the public" session at the Old Church in downtown Portland.

But, I had NO IDEA THAT I WOULD HAVE LUNCH WITH HER! FOR 2 1/2 GLORIOUS HOURS! God had a plan for me!

Initially, I balked at attending the "open to the public"session. I thought of a thousand reasons why I should not go.  Too hot, old building, no air conditioning. Did I really want any lecture on writing fiction?  I was a journalist for heaven's sake! But my writing mentor's urging won out -- she believed I had a novel inside my journalistic self, and thought an evening with Madeleine could shake it out of me.

But it was not the writing that bonded me to Madeleine L'Engle.  It was her passion for Jesus Christ.

So, in spite of hot and muggy,  I entered the Old Church with not much expectation, sat down, and proceeded to peruse the audience.  It was filled to overflowing with people who were chattering with excitement. Seemed to be a writing kind of audience I surmised, but would she teach for free on this night with a whole week-end full of paid-up participants who were signed-up months in advance for a writer's conference?

Before much second thought on my part, and after an introduction filled with accolades, she strode out to the podium, a puff of purple.  Though she seemed to float to the podium, her presence spoke of confidence and strength.  She smiled, graciously acknowledging and scanning the packed crowd both on the ground floor and balcony, and stood a few more minutes in silence.  It brought an uncanny shift to the audience atmosphere, almost as if their excitement turned to a wonder of curiosity.

She spoke. "I know most of you have come tonight to hear my experiences as an author, and about my life as a writer."  She paused, again perusing her listeners, "But tonight I am going to tell you all about the real author of this author -- Jesus Christ."

And, she proceeded to give the gospel of Jesus Christ, how He found her and loved her, and how it changed her life and her writing, her love for creativity, and her love for teaching writers, yes, her love for writers!

To say that you could hear a pin drop -- was an understatement.  She had the audience in the palm of her hand, not because of who she was, but

because of Who Jesus is.

I fell in love -- with her grace, with the power of her message, and I was humbled that I had almost missed the evening!  But God was not done with me yet.

As she closed, lines started forming to talk to her.  I briefly considered going up to shake her hand, and mumble my admiration, but I left the church instead.

I didn't get far. Stopped dead in my tracks for no human reason. Standing under the boughs of an old oak tree situated in front of the Old Church, I heard a still small voice, "Go back in and tell her you would like to interview her."

 I grabbed the bark of the old oak tree to steady myself.  I knew what I had heard, but hoped I hadn't. With what I can only define as gut-wrenching obedience, I made my way back inside, waited in line, and stuttered a question, something about me being a free-lancer, and yes, I know you don't have time, and, but, well, can I interview you?

There was never a waver in her eyes, her voice, or her resolve.  "Yes, Oh Yes!  I'd love to meet with you!"

The women who put on the conference had other ideas about her time.  "No Madeleine," one chimed in promptly, "You have no time to meet with anyone outside the conference!"

Velvet and steel, yes? L'Engle turned to her, and very sweetly said, "Oh my dear, but I do!"
She turned to me, we set up the time, and voila, my time with Madeleine was set for lunch the next day.

I felt like I was having lunch with an old friend instead of interviewing her.  We ate grilled cheese sandwiches in the conference building's cafeteria, and talked about many things.  She explained about how she found her way into the Christian faith. It began with her reading Einstein's "Theory of Relativity" in beginning to research for "A Wrinkle in Time."  She described her initial deep musings into whether there was a God or not, and in her journey of research for "Wrinkle", she  began to find God.  Her journey, as most of ours, took some time, and as she explains it in her non-fiction book, "A Circle of Quiet,"  an Anglican bishop finally "loved me into the kingdom of Jesus Christ, and settled the issue for me once and for all.  All the theological books my friends had given me didn't matter.  The love of God through this man in a time of a deep personal need brought me to the understanding of who God is."

We talked about things big and small.   She never once questioned that I was not a part of the conference -- instead, she seemed relieved that she could just be, and not teach.  In talking about "Wrinkle", she explained that it never occurred to her to doubt whether children should not know that evil existed.  And always when pressed, she insisted that she didn't write children's books, she wrote for everyone.  We talked about prayer, and she said she gave her more conservative Christian friends credit for teaching her about prayer, really deep prayer, that took her into the heart of her God.

We talked about her love for her husband, Hugh, who was an actor -- and she laughed unabashedly about how clumsy she felt (she had one leg shorter than the other) around him, and how he loved her into feeling totally graceful, kept her humble, and when she almost gave up writing during the ten years of waiting for "A Wrinkle in Time" to be published, Hugh chastised her about all the books being published that weren't half as good as hers, and encouraged her to stay the course!

She was adamant about being available as a mother, and would put her children to bed and stay up in the middle of the night to write, until her children, when they became older, gave her permission to write  during the day (please mother!) because she was grumpy otherwise. She believed in commitment and mused that when they bought an old farm house in a small rural village to raise their children, she rued,"I get so frightfully bored sometimes, and oh, the plumbing!"  Then a laugh, "My floors are a wreck, I can't bake a pie, but I can cook, thank God!  And write!"

It was Madeleine that impressed upon me for the first time -- you are a writer --God created you.  You have Him as your partner.   She was the first to admit that the process is not always a clean one -- it can get messy, but it is yours and God's.  It is good.  It is right.  And it is a fight.

And fight you must.

She believed in both the good and the evil.  And she believed in the fight.  And she believed that the fight can be won.  She believed in enjoying life, strong values, commitment, and honestly questioning and wrestling with God in questions, both big and small.

She squeezed my hand at the end of our interview, hugged me, and said, "Oh what a delight you are! Here is my phone number.  Call me any time!"

I am sure she had said that to thousands of writers, but how grateful I am to have been one of them.  "A Wrinkle in Time" reminds me of my time with her, and the kinship of our similar passions.  I am honored to have known her, and perhaps share a part of her with you dear readers.

For such a time as this?

I think so.  Read the book, and make your own decision about whether Hollywood got it or not.