Oddly enough, introvert that I
am, I’ve occasionally had a desire to join a book club. I enjoy reading; and being able to share ideas
and discuss with others what I have read—especially after having read a really
interesting book—sometimes holds some appeal for me.
So when I was looking through the
local Parks & Recreation department’s brochure of programs for this winter,
I was intrigued to see they now have an active book club. I read further. Their reading list is novels and personal
development/psychology books. Okay,
deep-six that idea.
Self-help books do not make my personal
reading list. The idea of reaching
perfection in some area of life through a step-by-step process seems so
formulaic, so unrealistic. I’m human. I’m imperfect. And I don’t foresee that changing while I
inhabit this earth. I have as much disdain for this genre of books
as I do for “Christmas letters.”
I’m sorry if you are one who sends out such letters
to your friends during the holidays and my sentiments on the subject offend you;
but the brag-laden letters that are meant to pass for Christmas greetings just
come across shallow and empty to me. I’m
pretty sure the last twelve months have not been the epitome of unmitigated
happiness and uninterrupted success for the senders and their families that nearly
every Christmas letter I’ve received portrays.
None tells about the heartache, pain, sickness, divorce, depression,
financial struggle, addiction, or any of the other maladies that mar the human
experience, including theirs.
That is why I enjoy Kate Bowler’s
writings. Kate, an associate professor
of the history of Christianity at Duke University Divinity School, was
diagnosed at age 35 with a life-threatening cancer. She has written about her struggle to conquer
the dread disease and gone on to be a New York Times best-selling author:
Everything Happens for a Reason and No Cure for Being Human. You can tell just from the titles that she is
on the other end of the spectrum from those pathway-to-perfection books.
This month I’m reading the
devotional book she authored with Jessica Richie, Good Enough. And for my Christmas post this year I share
the “Blessing for a Joyfully Mediocre Journey” with which she opens the book.
Blessed are you
who realize there is simply not enough
--time,
money, resources.
Blessed are
you
who are
tired of pretending that raw effort is the secret to perfection.
It’s
not. And you know that now.
Blessed are
you
who need a
gentle reminder that
even now,
even today,
God is here,
and somehow,
that is good
enough.
Wherever you are in life’s journey, whatever hurdles have
tripped you up in 2024, and no matter how many lie ahead—seen and unseen—may
Christmas remind you that you are not alone.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, however imperfect each
may be for you.
Roger
“They shall call his name Emmanuel, which being
interpreted is, ‘God with us.’” Matthew 1:23
