Keeping Place: Reflections on the Meaning of Home

Michel (Teach Us to Want), contributor for Christianity Today and Today in the Word, mixes theology and real-life scenarios to create a homey place of reflection. Exploring the meaning of “home” from a variety of biblical and personal perspectives, Michel grounds her ruminations in her own history—she had nine different addresses as a child, and seven more as an adult. She recalls her mother being gone often during her childhood, leaving long lonely gaps at home and restless emotional times. Later, as a teenager, Michel simply wanted to be picked up on time from events, but her mother’s nursing career divided her time and her affections. Readers will appreciate Michel’s section on doing work at home, which explores the ins and outs of daily life and how every bit of work helps to create a welcoming, comforting environment. Her examples are all engrossing and rich with parallels between biblical characters and today’s hectic lifestyles. Even so, the book chugs along sluggishly at some points. Lingering longer in today’s world might have given this meditation more personal use for readers. (May)