Living Influence with Bill Thrall and Scott Boyd

Episode: Scott's Testimony

Date: January 14, 2026
Hosts: Bill Thrall & Scott Boyd

Episode Overview

This episode centers on Scott Boyd's deeply personal testimony, first shared as a church Advent reflection on the theme of "joy." Scott explores the paradox of finding joy amidst suffering, drawing on his journey through grief and loss—particularly the death of his first wife to cancer and the subsequent, unexpected joy he found with his second wife, Eileen, who also lost her spouse. The testimony offers honest insights about vulnerability, grief, hope, and the capacity for joy that can emerge even in life’s hardest seasons.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Scriptural Foundation: Joy and Suffering

• 00:16–01:25
  Scott opens with Luke 2:10–11, tying the proclamation of Jesus' birth to great joy—set against the foreknowledge of suffering to come.
  • “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people.”
  • “When God had the angels make that proclamation, I think he knew the next 33 years and what they would be like.” (Scott, 01:10)
• He references Hebrews, noting Jesus “for the joy set before him endured the suffering of the cross,” merging suffering and joy in one profound idea.

2. Personal Narrative: Loss and Vulnerability

• 01:26–07:01
  • Scott reflects on hesitancy in sharing his story, not wanting to be defined by tragedy.
  • He details the dual cancer diagnoses in 2019 for both himself (his wife) and Eileen (her husband).
    • "I started the essay with the words, 'I'm a man of sorrow.'" (Scott, 02:00)
    • Both illnesses were essentially terminal; Scott’s wife, Bev, succumbed after 20 months.
  • Scott shares the emotional complexity: resenting the way cancer upended life, then feeling guilty for that resentment.
  • He and Bev faced everything honestly—talking about God, healing, dying, and the future.
    • “We didn’t know if we should talk about healing or dying at the same time... Were we not in faith to talk about dying while we were praying for healing?” (Scott, 04:20)
  • Suffering, Scott observes, eliminates pretense:
    • “Suffering takes away all pretense, all performance, all ego. What remained was only the truest me and the truest Bev standing in raw reality together. Suffering doesn’t let you hide.” (Scott, 04:45)

3. Discovering the Paradox: Suffering Carves Space for Joy

• 04:46–06:30
  • Paradoxically, in suffering, they found deeper intimacy, love, and connection to God.
  • Joy, hope, and grief, Scott says, often coexist:
    • “Joy, hope and grief share the same territory because they require the same things—being fully real.” (Scott, 05:45)
  • As Bev passed, Scott experienced profound absence and grief, yet also an unexplained trust in God:
    • “She left a silence I had never known... I found trust in Him that I couldn’t explain.” (Scott, 06:45)

4. Rebuilding: Love After Loss

• 07:02–10:00
  • Scott describes God nudging him to seek companionship, leading to meeting Eileen, whose journey of loss mirrored his own.
  • They connected first through text, openly sharing about their late spouses and grief:
    • "She was okay with me talking about Bev—that I still loved her. I was okay with her talking about Jeff—that she still loved him. Well, we helped each other grieve through those texts." (Scott, 08:13)
  • Scott reflects on facing grief rather than running:
    • “They say if you run away from grief, you will stay in it longer, like running away from the coming night. But if you face it and you walk into it, you’ll find the dawn sooner.” (Scott, 09:05)

5. A Greater Joy After Suffering

• 10:01–13:55
  • Through their journey, Scott and Eileen discovered new depths of joy and redemption:
    • "We found our joy filled the spaces that our suffering had carved out... a joy that came from going through suffering.” (Scott, 11:05)
  • He observes an honest reality:
    • "Joy is harder than grief. Hope is harder than grief. We're all afraid of joy, that it won't last, so we avoid it." (Scott, 12:10)
    • Many avoid hoping or letting in joy, fearing future loss.

6. Receiving Joy: Vulnerability and Acceptance

• 13:56–14:50
  • Scott concludes with a reflection on receiving love and joy as an act of vulnerability and humility:
    • “To receive joy, you must be willing to be loved. And being loved requires letting someone love you—admitting you have need, admitting you can't do it alone... The key word is receive." (Scott, 13:58)
    • He circles back to the Christmas refrain: "Joy to the world. The Lord has come. Let earth receive her king." (Scott, 14:45)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Suffering and Joy:
  “God puts the words suffering and joy together.” (Scott, 01:15)
• On Facing Grief:
  “Suffering doesn’t let you hide.” (Scott, 04:50)
• On Hope and Grief:
  “Joy, hope, and grief share the same territory because they require the same things—being fully real.” (Scott, 05:47)
• On Letting Joy In:
  “Joy is harder than grief. Hope is harder than grief. We’re all afraid of joy, that it won’t last, so we avoid it.” (Scott, 12:10)
• On Receiving and Belonging:
  “To receive joy, you must be willing to be loved...” (Scott, 13:58)

Important Timestamps

• 00:16 – Opening with scripture and the theme of joy
• 01:26 – Beginning Scott’s cancer journey narrative
• 04:46 – The stripping away of pretense through suffering
• 07:02 – Transition to life after Bev’s passing and meeting Eileen
• 10:01 – Realizing deeper joy post-suffering
• 13:56 – Final reflections on vulnerability and receiving love

Summary

Scott’s testimony offers a candid, moving exploration of how suffering and loss do not exclude but can carve greater capacity for joy. Through vulnerability with God, his first wife, and eventually with Eileen, he found healing and a willingness to let joy in—even when it’s difficult and frightening. This episode is a testament to hope, resilience, and the powerful, unexpected ways God can redeem and expand the spaces left by sorrow.

Listeners will come away with a deeper appreciation for the complexity of joy, the value of facing pain directly, and the calling to receive love as a grace—echoing the enduring message: “Joy to the world. The Lord has come. Let earth receive her king.”