Lee - A prairie devotional: inspired by the beloved TV series

M y familys favorite gathering place is the hand-me-down couch filled with colorful pillows in our living room, a brimming bookcase along one side, and a white-mantled fireplace on the other. On the top shelf of the corner hutch sits a framed photo of my twin sister, Brenda, and me. We are snuggled on Michael Landons lap.

Pa is playfully grinning as though hes the luckiest man on earth.

Whenever I look at that photo, I grin too. At eight months old, Brenda and I were cast as Baby Grace, Charles Ingallss youngest daughter, for the television series Little House on the Prairie. The four seasons we spent as Baby Grace turned our lives right-side-up. Although too young to grasp our good fortune, we have since come to realize that we werearethe lucky ones, blessed to have been part of a television family that modeled for us what a real family can be.

I dont know if your parents watched Little House with you the way mine did, but it was a tradition I carried on when I became a parent. When my daughter began kindergarten, the Ingalls family entertained us every Monday night. With each episode, I gleaned nuggets of wisdom from Charles and Caroline, and even from the unlikely character of Nellie Oleson.

Many of the relationship and faith connections I had missed when watching as a child now jumped out at me as an adult. I saw relevant lessons for today, and the episodes became opportunities for family discussions.

One night, as all of us crowded onto the couch watching a favorite Little House episode, my husband suggested that I write a devotional built on the shows themes. Although it sounded like a great idea, I didnt have the confidence to try. Growing up in a broken home and being the younger twin, I struggled with self-doubt. A devotional sounded like a task too great for me to attempt.

Years of joy and heartache went by, both for our family and for the Ingallses. As we watched the Ingalls family overcome challenges week after week, I noticed how universal and timeless the themes were. We all struggle with loneliness, illness, setbacks, and loss. I had been diagnosed with a brain tumor and was dealing with insecurity, grief, and the unknowns of brain surgery. My familys challenges were no different from those of the Ingalls family. Just as Little House encouraged us, I could encourage othersif I paid heed to Pa, that is. All you can do is try, hed said.

This devotional is the result of doing just that.

First airing in 1974 and running for nine seasons, the television series was based on Laura Ingalls Wilders childrens books. Wilder charmed the world with her delightful stories of growing up as a pioneer girl. Although her stories are not all happy, they do encourage and inspire. Underlying her adventures is a strong faith in a good God, faith to which the television series stayed true.

Within these pages are stories of joy and heartache, fear and triumph, doubt and strength, each story a testament of faith that helped the Ingalls familyand our familynavigate lifes challenges. I invite you to gather your family on your couch and join me as we step into the world of the Ingallses and into a closer walk with God.

Wendi Lou Lee

S EASON 6, E PISODE 11, A UTHOR , A UTHOR

You better get some more paper then. Your grandpas got a whole lifetime of stories in his head.

C AROLINE I NGALLS

H ow we live our lives determines what kind of story we can tell. Every day we choose to dive deep into life or watch it pass by. We can live an epic life without visiting exotic places or having extravagant experiences; we just need to engage in the epic-ness of our own backyards and anywhere our feet might tread. When we live with this attitude, stories emerge, stories we cant help but share.

When Carolines mother passes away, her grieving father loses the will to live. He resolves to wait passively and watch his life enduntil Albert asks about his childhood. A story erupts from his brittle soul, and he becomes a passionate storyteller of his past.

Like Grandpa Holbrook, my grandmother lost her spouse after forty-seven years of marriage. Grandma Lou was a storyteller when we were growing up. I remember the famous childhood tale of life on her family farm in Minnesota, hunting down a chicken with an axeand then her expression when she told us how the headless chicken chased her around the barnyard. She said killing Sunday dinner was the worst of all chores. I must have heard that story a hundred times.