Now and Not Yet: Pressing In When You’re Waiting, Wanting, and Restless for More

Believers who feel dissatisfied with their lives should “step into the ways God wants to change [them]” rather than “trying to change [their] circumstances,” according to this openhearted guide from Simons (When Strivings Cease), founder of the Christian lifestyle brand GraceLaced. Instead of “numb[ing] ourselves with distractions,” readers should turn “to prayer instead of fretting,” appreciate the present moment, and persist in their personal and spiritual work even when “we think our labors go unnoticed,” because “you don’t have to be blooming to be growing.” Delving into the Bible, Simons points to the Israelites’ 40 years in the wilderness to urge those stuck in “desert places” of their own to uncover the “comforts, idols, and treasures we lean on for sustenance” and replace them with faith. While those struggling with chronic illness (one of Simons’s examples of a desert place) may be less-than-satisfied with her suggestion to “create rhythms that help you remember God,” such as by assembling a good hymn playlist, she effectively grounds other bits of advice in vulnerable personal anecdotes, recalling, for example, how she dreamed of her “not-yet” career goals during the years she spent raising her children. Readers will be fortified by Simons’s steady assurances that “you’re not right where you are on accident.” (Apr.)