This review originally appeared on my personal blog, Christie Thinks
There is a moment when, upon reading particular lines in particular books, that I realize ‘this book is going to change me’. And I, a lover of books and literacy and words put onto paper in all forms, I know that all books change us at least a little; that I can’t read the real or not real (or a combination thereof) story of someone’s life without being impacted. That said, I made it only a few pages intoPreston Yancey’s Tables in the Wilderness before I realized it was a life changer. And perhaps that’s drama queen of me to say, and perhaps I say that of a lot of books lately, but I nonetheless believe it to be wholly true.
As a bit of an aside, it’s funny that some of the reviews I mean the most are the reviews that end up being less about the book I read, and more about the life that I’m living. (I suppose this is why I felt so comfortable in my English department, whose motto was that the world is made up of stories, rather than atoms.)
There are some things that other people can’t understand unless they have been there–really been there. And, despite reading his blog for quite some time, I was startled to realize how many of Preston’s words were my words too. Many of the things that brought him in (and out) of silence with God are also my things. Preston’s deep love for his alma mater is akin to how I feel about my own.
And sometimes I feel like a phony, leading churchy things when I distinctly don’t have my churchy stuff together. But I’ve correctly guessed, many thanks to Preston’s writing, that this is God, as all things are God, and God is building and setting and preparing a table for me in the utmost of my wilderness. That God comes to us even when we aren’t sure that we believe it.
I will say that, at times, I thought “Preston, you are too young for this.” But of course I did. This is a thought I have about many people all the time; that we are too young for our hardships, too hard for our existential crises; too young to be so wildly enraptured by love. But the living of life doesn’t wait until we’re ready, and the writing of books sometimes takes us by surprise.
And so I’m grateful that Preston Yancey wrote this book. I’m grateful that he’s adding to the canon of spiritual memoirs that I (and I’m sure other readers) find so encouraging. Because, as I know I’m writing all the time, it is good to know that we are not alone. So go pick up a copy of this book, will you? It is definitely worth the read.
* Full disclosure: I received an advance reader’s copy of Tables in the Wilderness, but the above thoughts and opinions are fully my own.
* Image source.
Christie Reads 