I remember being a pregnant twenty-two year old. My toddler was running around being busy and cute. I was trying to figure out what I would “do” with my life. Being a mother hardly seemed to me to be the ultimate goal. Society loudly proclaimed that I should really do something with my life.
Michael was finishing up his degree at Multnomah Bible College at the time. One day he walked in and handed me his copy of The Pursuit of God that he had read for a class. With a warning that the language was challenging, he said I’d like it.
I liked it. I sat on the couch and alternated squishy toddler hugs and stories with little snippets of A.W. Tozer. A fresh breeze blew into my life of faith. Or more accurately, my life of doubt. I read and reread The Pursuit of God several times that year. The ideas and words became my own. That book united our ideas and values in life as no other book has.
Flipping through it now, I see Michael’s highlighting and notes, coupled with my own markings. It is one of my favorite possessions.
The Pursuit of God gave my priorities a shake so that I was able to grasp what Edith Schaeffer brought to my attention in her book What is a Family? By then I was 25 and pregnant with two children running around. My notes through that book speak to the overwhelm I was feeling that year, trying to imagine life with three children. What would I do? What mattered most? In her wordy, gentle way, Edith put things into perspective. She assured me that society had it wrong, and that this work of motherhood and all that comes with being home and caring for my people was worth my energy and focus.
My gratitude is deep for these two books and their effect on our family.
The Dutch Rush 