#347 - Roma Downey | Actress From Touched By An Angel

Foreign. So every now and then, you come across someone who just lights up a room, and that's who I'm talking with today. And I'm so excited because this incredible woman, you already know her, she is an amazing producer, actor, and author, Roma Downey. And I have a spot special place in my heart because of Touched by an angel, which I just fell in love with and fell in love with Roma. And she has a new devotional out called Be an Angel, which is incredible. And, Roma, I want to thank you for hanging out with us today.

Oh, thank you for having me on. I'm so happy to talk to you, to talk to you about angels and things with wings and love and light and all of that. I'm so glad to hear you were a fan of Touched by an Angel. I wasn't it a great show, Hannah?

It was an amazing show. And, Roma, I've got to tell you something. I'm going to, like, just be so vulnerable with you right now because when I was looking at your devotional book, now my mom went home to be with Jesus about six weeks ago, she passed on. And I immediately. I'm looking at your book, Roma, and I'm reading it, and I'm like, this is incredible. I've got to send it to Mama. She's going to love it. And then it hit me that she's not here. And I got sad. Like, I got really sad. And I want to show you something. This is how I know that God is all over what you're doing. And he is all over this book right now is. I flipped it open right after I started crying about missing my mom. And it said, I don't know where today finds you. I celebrate if the roses in your life are in full bloom, My heart hurts with you. If you're facing a season of deep grief, perhaps after the loss of a loved one or of dreams stolen by circumstances, our hope is in this one day, Jesus will wipe every tear. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. Faith enables us to both feel the ache and look forward with hope. Like, tell me that isn't how God works through you. Right?

That's like. That gave me. That's a goosebump moment right there, isn't it? I love you. Listen. And you know, your mom is not too far from you, but, you know, having lost my mom and my dad, too, you know, it's. It's the pain like no other, you know? So I'm sorry that. That you are in that time. And I honestly, I could have written the book for you. I imagined that I was writing this book as if in a conversation with a girlfriend, you know, maybe sitting down for a cup of tea. And, you know, you get to be old enough, you think, what are the lessons that I have learned along the way? What were the things that might be valuable to somebody else that I wish somebody had shared with me or somebody else had told me? And. And so this is just the. My book is just the, you know, the maybe a year of writing and putting it together. And it's lovely that it's finally out there. And I just hope that it finds, you know, women like you and people who. Who are going through, unfortunately, a season of loss. Because I pray just that the book and the thoughts in the book and the prayers in the book will be of comfort and strength.

Well, it is definitely love and it's definitely light. And that just kind of. This kind of emanates from you. I mean, that's who you are. Is that love and light?

Listen.

Yeah.

I had such a wonderful. Almost 10 years playing an angel on TV with our wonderful, amazing Della Reese, untouched by an angel. And, you know, it was just such a enriching time in my life. It was the kind of work you didn't mind taking home with you. You know, it really. I think it made. Playing Monica made me a better person in many ways. She made me a better listener, you know, because she. She really was there just to hold the loving space for these people that came in each week and had some kind of meltdown or crises in their lives. And her job really was to kind of hold the space for that and when the moment was right, to say, you know, actually, I'm not an undercover angel. I am, in fact, a. You know, have been sent by the Almighty.

Yeah.

With a message. And the message was consistent that there is a God, he loves us. He wants to be part of our life. So fast forward, however many years later and, you know, I still wanted to be as if a messenger of that message. And it was such a privilege to be the messenger of that message. And I've just tried to incorporate those themes here into this book. And to, you know, I encourage your listeners maybe to check it out either for themselves or as a gift to someone who's been an angel in their lives. Yeah. And, you know, I believe that. That, you know, we make a change in our lives through the things we do in habit form, you know.

Right.

And so I remember years ago, somebody sharing a Couple of things with me that stuck with me, and that was just, you know, don't put off till later what you could do right now. Which is usually for me, it's like prayer. It's the reset in the morning. It's when I read my Bible. It's when I, you know, take a moment of quiet before the day begins, with the, you know, the beauty of a sunrise. I think no matter how dark or sleepless the night was before the sun rises. And it brings with it just, you know, the possibility of a new day, a chance to get it better, do something better.

How do you think that could change people's lives? Like, if they just started proactively like that. If they just started the day. Like, I know I. If I don't start the day with my Bible, with that time with God, it's pretty much like I'm trying to just, like, get. Get my footing back all day long. How do you think that could change people's lives?

Yeah, I. I absolutely feel that, too. And in the same way, like, I go to a Pilates class and I, you know, and I book my place in the class because if I didn't, like, if I didn't have that appointment, I wouldn't go, and then the day would be over and I haven't worked out, and I promised myself that I would work out. So I feel I have to attach just to something I do every day and commit to and show up. So for me, it's like, I grew up in Ireland, and we had a cup of tea with everything. I mean, you get news that your mom has died, you'd made a cup of tea, you get news your sister's getting married, you made a cup of tea, you know, your best friend's having a baby, let's have a cup of tea. And it was like, have the cup of tea and talk about it. So my morning, I usually pop down. Still dark normally. Yeah. And I put the kettle, I make a cup of tea, and then I take it outside, and then I sit with my Bible and my silence and I watch the sun come up with my cup of tea.

Like, who knew a cup of tea could be that powerful, right? Setting an appointment, making it proactive. I've got to make an appointment and for myself and just. Just to get filled up with that love and with that light and that time with God.

Because the day, you know, if you think of your energy like water in a bathtub, and you start your morning in with a full bathtub, but, you know, the minute the Alarm goes off, you know, a little bit of water is going out. And then the first, you know, business thing that creates a little bit of stress maybe, or the kids are sick or somebody's late for school. And each thing that happens is letting a little bit more water out of your bathtub. And usually most of us go to bed at night and the bathtub's pretty empty, you know, so the refilling of that, the sort of spiritual significance of refilling in the morning so that you're ready no matter what comes at you, you're already starting with a full tank.

We've got to do that.

Like, you know, and I just, I find it works for me. So I wrote this devotional not only just to be an encourage, you know, when people are going through losses or longings, but to serve as a, you know, let's, let's do this together in the mornings. Yeah. Let's start the day together and hopefully help you create this prayer habit.

Yeah.

And then once you get through the book, you're well on your way to, you know, to making that your appointment for yourself each morning.

This is a great format and something that I wanted to share with our listeners, our viewers right now is there's some, something at the end of every single one called Be an Angel. You have a little section right there on how to take what you've been sharing and actually put it to work. And that's something I really appreciate because so many times we're left with, you know, we'll soak up some verses, we'll soak up some knowledge or some wisdom or some feel good literature, and then we don't know how to get it out there to the world. And so you really put this into active form.

How can it be applied in your life? Yeah, I put these little suggestions in. You know, my father used to say that love was a verb and that faith was a verb, that anybody could say, I love you, or anybody could say, I'm a believer. But how do we put that into action? And what does that look like? And so some of these are, you know, a little bit more challenging than others, but at the very least they are. The be an angel suggestion is, you know, I had a chapter in there on forgiveness. And listen, we can write about forgiveness till the cows come home. You know, it's. It's hard, you know, it's a hard thing. You can't just say, okay, I'm going to forgive now. It's like, how do, how do you let go of that hurt or Bitterness or betrayal or, you know, whatever might have happened to you. And so at the end of that chapter, for instance, in my book, Be an Angel, it says, just set the intention. At least just start with God. I want to be able to forgive. I don't know how to. Please help me. And I find sometimes when we just set the intention and put it out there, you know, God is amazing, and through his grace, you know, all things are possible. So when we invite him in to, you know, to participate with us, to help us, you've sort of got. I always think you get the ball rolling.

Yeah.

You know, you welcome in spirit, and then spirit does the rest, you know, and it may not happen overnight, but at least the journey begins. And it's like, you know, the journey starts with the first step. That is, the first step has to be. That's what I want. I want to try that. So, listen, Hannah, the book's not overly complicated. Like, I'm. I know I am an author now. I've written. This is my third book. But it still surprises me to hear myself introduced as author. You know, I've been an actor for so long, and of course, the last decade or more, I've really been focusing on my producing career. I think of my writing more as it's, you know, it is kind of conversational. You know, it's. You know, it's not like somebody sitting down to write a novel. I just write what I know. I write what I feel, you know, And I. And I'm a great collector of quotes. And, of course, I love scripture and prayer, but I also just love, like, inspirational quotes. Like, one of my favorites is the American writer and poet Maya Angelou. And she has a quote where she says, people will forget what you said, and they'll forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

That is beautiful.

I love that. You know, and that's kind of the essence, too, of what I was writing, that the be an angel opportunity at the end of each chapter is, can you do something for somebody else to make them feel, you know, seen or heard, to encourage them, to encourage someone to be tender with someone, you know, to be gentle. And so it's about kindness, but it's more than that, you know, it's just, how do you hold a loving space for someone?

Yeah.

And, you know, so anyway, I.

That's exactly what you did. That's exactly what you did.

Just be getting ready to launch anything.

Yeah.

You know, it's hard to create. It's easy to criticize. And it's hard to create. And so, you know, I pray that this will be an encouragement to others as I in my life have been encouraged and had great mentors. And, you know, I had a. My mom died when I was just a little girl, but I had a great dad.

Yeah.

And so I know some people didn't have happy childhoods, but I think in some ways you're never too late to kind of try to reframe, to be grateful for what you did have. There's always a blessing somewhere in something. And sometimes it's the bad stuff there is that ushers in. Right.

Yeah. Because all things work together for good. So even. Even the bad things that you would think this is. What can. What good can come out of this? I mean, that was. That's the beauty of your writing is that it really is a conversation. And people don't forget how you made them feel. And the. The way they can feel is even this, whether good or bad, whether mountain or valley, God has not forsaken me. He's here in this space and we can get through it.

I absolutely, I don't. Honestly, sometimes, you know, I have some friends that I know and we sit around and we talk about, you know, how we just are so grateful to be people, you know, of the good book. Because I don't know how anybody would cope with the things that life throws at us.

No have.

If we didn't have our faith, you know, for the courage it gives us, the strength, the comfort, you know, this. The sweet loving nature of our God to, you know, and even in the places where we mess up, even the times we're not an angel or as like an angel. Right. You know, which is just all of us, you know, it's all of us that every day the chance to. To start again, to try to be better, you know.

Yes.

And that we can help each other with that. And we must help each other with it, you know, because it's. I think Covid taught us too. How many people are living in such loneliness?

I know.

In isolation.

I know. Never have we been more connected and more isolated.

I know. Honestly, I mean, sometimes when my kids, like we're empty nesters now, my husband and I, so sometimes it's just the two of us rattling around in the house. Dogs. The dogs have become the kids.

Oh, I totally understand that.

They're all home and they bring their, you know, their boyfriends or girlfriends or friends. Over in the house is again filled with noise and laughter and, you know, the. The sound of people running across the floor above you and.

Right.

You know, And I think I'm so grateful just for family. Always Wish I'd had 20 kids, you know, I just love having them all home and stuff. But my heart does turn to people. I think of people in our community, people in our church, people in our neighborhood that live by themselves, you know, particularly if you're a little bit older and, you know, to. How hard is it? It's not hard just to drop in. Yeah. And say, I was just going by. I was going by the shop and I picked this up for you, or phone somebody. I mean, these are really simple things. Not hard. No, it's not.

It's not hard to be an angel.

And you feel a bit better doing it to yourself, you know?

Yeah, absolutely. Because when. When God says in his word, there's more blessed to give than to receive, that's literal. Like, it is a bl. To give. It is a blessing to be an angel. So I want to thank you again. Yeah.

And, you know, you're. You're an angel to someone today, and maybe tomorrow you'll be the one that needs the angel, you know, and so it's like, keep. Keep your open heart and listen to the call, and when it comes, be ready to answer it. But thank you so much for having.

Me, and thank you for being an angel.

Your listeners and viewers. Pick up the book, or if you like to listen to books, as I know people do prefer sometimes just to list books. I personally went over and to a studio and I recorded the book myself, so that's an option for folks out there. And then if I can quickly give a little shout out to the next movie that I've produced, which will be coming up on Amazon prime this spring, I think sometime in April. And it's called On a Wing and a Prayer. It stars Dennis Quaid, Heather Graham, and Jesse Metcalfe. And it's another. It's an exciting thriller of a story, but all woven through it, too, is a heartbeat of faith. It's called On a Wing and a Prayer.

Well, I cannot.

Angel wings, airplane wings. But those were my two offerings for this spring that I hope your fans of your show will check out.

Wonderful. Thank you so much, Roma. I really appreciate your time. And thank you so much for being an angel here today on the podcast. Bless you.