As a homeschooling mom of two active boys, finding a quiet moment to let my heart rest in the gospel can feel almost impossible. My “quiet time” is often anything but quiet. That’s why I gravitate toward morning reads that can meet me where I am, coffee in hand and interruptions guaranteed.
I recently pre-ordered Ruth Chou Simons’ new book, The Way of the Wildflower: Gospel Meditations to Unburden Your Anxious Soul and it has been such a gift. Ruth organizes her thirty gospel meditations into five sections: The Way of Dependency, The Way of Freedom, The Way of Resilience, The Way of the Unhurried, and The Way of Belovedness. Each one speaks into a real “when”, the moments we’ve walked through or will walk through as women who often carry more than we admit.
The short gospel meditations offer readers a moment of pause in our day to breathe in the grace-filled truths that ground us in our Father’s truth and love. The meditations are organized in a way that allows the reader to revisit an area of particular need.
Regardless of the season you are walking through, you may find yourself nourished and refreshed by Simons’ nuggets of truth-filled encouragement. She appropriately titles each chapter with the leading, “When You…” These titles name the human experiences we rarely say out loud: When You’re Hurting, When You’re Rushing, When You Doubt, When You Forget Who You Are. One of those “whens” is bound to echo the landscape of your current season.
I can attest that more than a dozen of them apply to my current season of life but I will indulge this space with one of her nuggets that really tugged at my heart, In When You’re Overwhelmed, Simons writes:
You and I must remember that it is God’s kindness that we find ourselves “not enough” for life’s burdens and busyness. Your weariness is not a surprise to him. Instead, God allows you to feel overwhelmed so he might show himself generous and trustworthy for the relief you seek. He offers you rest in exchange for your surrender of all that overwhelms and burdens you.
And while what she pens isn’t a new truth, it is a truth I need constant reminders of. I often forget that it is indeed in his kindness that I am reminded that I cannot manage or accomplish all the things I hope to. It is his daily kindness to me that I feel so acutely my desperate need for him.
Reading through Simons’ meditations served as a timely reminder of my finitude. I am weak, he is strong. I am needy, he is generous. I am broken, he is perfect. And this book of gospel meditations is one I can visit and revisit. It may not quiet my home, but it quiets my soul as I’m reminded of the goodness of my heavenly Father who remains faithful, generous, and kind amid my noisy and demanding days.