Shauna Niequist’s new book, Present Over Perfect, has spoken some much-needed grace and freedom into the business (read: chaos) of my life over the last few months. Niequist reminds the reader that not all good things are necessary, and of the great rest and joy we recover in stillness.
“So here I am: a girl who loves the days that scream along from start to finish, that start with loads of espresso and switch quickly to wine with lunch, and I’m telling you that the silence is becoming my new home, that the tenderness of life unarmed is welcoming me into the sweetest season of life I’ve yet known. I did not see this coming, honestly. But I suppose I should have, because God in his goodness has been doing this thing in my life for a long time—surprising me, drawing me along to places I could never have imagined…
…Whatever thing you think you can’t do without: alcohol, shopping, that number on a scale. That car, that secret habit, that workout. The pills, the lies, the affair. The money, the success, the cutting. Whatever it is that you clutch onto with angry fists, that you grab like a lifeline, when you release that thing, when you let it go, that’s when you’ll hear the notes between the music.”
Are you run down by doing all the “right” things (and maybe some of the wrong things too)? May Present Over Perfect bring you sweet relief. I pray this book would offer you a new perspective on God’s precious vision for our lives, versus the nearly competitive way we actually live them.
