Kate Bowler, renowned author of Everything Happens for a Reason and No Cure for Being Human, joins forces with Jessica Richie, executive director of the Everything Happens Initiative, to offer readers 40 devotions that explore the stress, anxiety, and heartache of “living under the weight of the Perfectibility Paradigm.” Explaining the tension this causes Christians—many of whom are finding their way in the quagmire of divergent opinions on just how perfect believers should expect to become—the authors write, “One of the most counterintuitive parts of the Christian tradition is its emphasis on progress when it doesn’t believe in absolute perfection. Jesus alone is perfect. But we are asked to try and try and try again. We are required to walk toward God to the steady drumbeat of improvement.”
According to Bowler and Richie, the idea of a “best life now” is untenable. In answer to that reality, their goal is to “carve out a space between despair and hope, between believing everything is possible and nothing is possible. We are on the lookout for beauty and meaning and truth in the midst of lives that didn’t turn out like we thought they should. … We can begin to feel less alone, more loved, and less judged when good is ... enough.”
The authors’ compassion, hard-won wisdom, and humor shape these easy-to-read devotions, each of which includes a prayer or blessing and a simple suggestion called a Good Enough Step to encourage readers to develop a deeper, richer faith in God. Quotes from diverse writers offer added enlightenment to round out each devotion. (Convergent Books)
About the Author
Sonya VanderVeen Feddema is a freelance writer and a member of Covenant CRC in St. Catharines, Ontario.