Savannah Guthrie has a new book out that is close to her heart.
In “Mostly What God Does,” the TODAY co-anchor opened up about her relationship with God and her faith. She also spoke to her TODAY colleagues, Hoda Kotb, Al Roker, Craig Melvin and Carson Daly, about their personal faith-based journeys in a conversation that aired Feb. 21 on TODAY.
Hoda said her journey has not been a straight line and that her relationship with God has changed, from the devastation of losing her father to the joy of having two kids.
“I feel like my path to faith has been evolving throughout my life,” Hoda said.
“Each day I have a little journal where I write, ‘Dear God, thank you for this precious day.’ And I feel him all the time, more so now than I think I ever have before," she said. "He used to be someone I was mad at. Like, when my dad died, I was mad at him. And then all of the sudden, in due time, here I sit with two kids and I think to myself, ‘God’s been present, sitting here.’ I asked him and begged him on bended knee for Haley and Hope, and they came.”
Carson said his faith evolved after his father’s death and his mother remarried.
“I think a lotta people inherit their faith from their families, from their parents,” he said. “I lost my dad when I was young. My mom remarried when I was about 7 or 8 to a guy who quickly told us, ‘I’m not trying to replace your father. I wanted to be there. I love your mother.’”
“He led by example," he continued. "I wanted to be like him so badly. He was such a great guy. Faith was at the epicenter of his life. So I started going to church just to kind of see what was there that this dude liked so much. And I really kind of discovered my own faith that way.”
Al, who is the father of three children, pointed out that after having kids he found himself seeking guidance from a higher power.
“I think my faith evolved, but it really did when those children come. I always remember my mother going, ‘God, give me strength,’” he said, drawing laughter.
“I hear those words, but it’s important to give them that foundation.”
Savannah said “I see faith everywhere,” which prompted her to ask where others see God and led Craig to open up about the death of his brother Lawrence.
“The closest I have been with God has been when I have struggled mightily,” he said. “You were there when I got a call, one morning before the show, that my brother had slipped away. And we sort of knew it was coming. But I had convinced myself that maybe this wasn’t going be it.”
Craig said Savannah came in and they prayed.
“And it was in that moment -- precisely what I needed,” he said. “I didn’t know I needed it. But I knew I had to pick myself up and I had to help lead my family down this dark path.”
“I also think that faith and a belief in God is how we hold hands with whoever is in the next life. We see God as our connection,” she said.
Al said he was with his father when he died, which further emphasized the power God has.
“My sister was like, ‘God’s going to heal Daddy.’ And he took that last breath and I thought, ‘God just healed Daddy,’” Al recalled. “This is the ultimate healing.”
Al also said he saw God through his TODAY family who rallied to his side when he dealt with health issues last year.
“And you guys were God’s gifts, you know? Every one of you coming to see me and supporting Deborah and Leila and the family. And strangers just coming up. ‘How are you? We were praying for you.’”
Hoda says she does her best to make decisions that God would like, while she maintains hope.
“I see it every day, and I seek it. I seek it. And I feel like God gives us that ability to decide. And I feel like every day I make choices that I hope would be in his favor,” she said.
Savannah hopes to spread a message of hope to everyone who reads her book.
“The book is called ‘Mostly What God Does,’ and the rest of the sentence is mostly what God does is love you," she explained. "And the idea is if we could really feel God’s love, not only would it transform us, but it would be contagious and we’d want share that love everywhere.”