I Will Miss the Books

The gift of sabatical is primarily the gift of time. I read more than 30 books during this last 6 months, read them cover to cover, and smaller portions of many other books and articles as well. They covered a wide range of genres and subjects from books on spirituality and renewal to books on ministry, to poetry, to all kinds of fiction including mystery, fantasy, and historical novels.

When people ask me which of these books I would most recommend, it's almost impossible to answer, given their range. But I almost always find myself referring to the impact of Ronald Rolheiser’s Forgotten among the Lilies on the way I see myself, my expectations for life, and my place in the world. Rolheiser takes his title from the last line of St. John of the Cross' poem, The Dark Night of the Soul, "I have left all of my cares and anxieties, lost among the lilies." It has helped me lean into love as my sole foundation and goal and into my identity as a beloved.

James Houston, ex-Oxford don and founder of Regent College has challenged me to identify and give up the false self and find my true self hidden in Christ in a series of essays collected in the book Joyful Exiles (IVP 2007). Its not the kind of book one picks up casually to read for a few minutes, but what I am reading there is staying with me.

Limburg's Encountering Ecclesiastes was my first serious study of Qoheleth, and I am forever endebted to the way he has changed my opinion about this author, and forever grateful for his example of realistic faith.

And finally, an unpretentious reflection on the love of God by Floyd Roseberry, given to me by Tom Parsons, became God's whisper to me throughout my sabbatical. Living as God's Beloved is essentially a reflection on a series of quotes from Henri Nouwen, Thomas Merton, Evelyn Underhill and many other spiritual writers on our life as a beloved of God. I went back to this photocopied stack of pages again and again.

Each of the more than 3 dozen books that I read have become part of me in different ways. In some cases, their points, like gourmet meals presented on fine china, live vividly in my memory. Others, I digested more like good, everyday fare. They nourished me without standing out or being noteworthy. Granted, some went through me fast. Thankfully, none made me constipated.


With seven days left to this magnificent, 6-month Sabbath, I might have room for a few more. Any suggestions?