Sometimes you pick up a book and begin to read and find the book really resonates. You find yourself thinking about it when you aren’t reading and looking forward to returning to it. The book becomes an invitation to a place you want to be, or a feeling you want to have, or an adventure you want to enjoy. Soon, you find yourself talking about it to others because you want them to enjoy it as you did. You want someone to step into the experience with you.
Isn’t this what we do with all the good things in life…think about them, look forward to them, and talk about them? Aren’t good things enjoyed so much more when enjoyed with someone?
In this post, I’ll tell you about a book that was a gift from my friend Milly. It’s called The Way of the Wildflower, by Ruth Chou Simons, and its subtitle is Gospel Meditations to Unburden Your Anxious Soul.
This lovely book of meditations is filled cover to cover with watercolors of beautiful wildflowers, so I was wowed right from the unwrapping. Some of this has to do with the fact that I have been learning how to paint over the past several years, and my favorite subject is flowers.
This is the first book by Ruth Chou Simons I’ve ever read. I confess I thought I’d enjoy it mostly for her art and her commentary on the flowers, not for the meditations. I goofed on all three accounts. The book surprised me because it’s rare that I find a devotional I stick with.
The Way of the Wildflower has been a delightful morning companion for some months, and the Lord has used it to feed me in numerous ways. You could say I’ve been chewing my way through the book. It’s caused me to reflect again on the verse that says, “Your words were found and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart, for I am called by your name, O LORD, God of hosts.” (Jeremiah 15:16).
I’ve been wondering what was different with this one? If the art drew me in, why did I stay until the end? First a brief overview, and then I’ll share what I found.
Simons’ book is based on Jesus’ instruction in Luke chapter 12 to consider how the wildflowers grow. In the first section, to help us consider, she establishes a clear assessment of a wildflower’s condition.
“Wildflowers are entirely dependent on their Creator. His timing, the rainfall he allows, the seasons he has ordained, and the ecosystems he has placed them in.”
The book has five sections based on her conclusions about a wildflower’s ways, such as The Way of Dependency or The Way of Resilience. Each of those five sections includes six meditations, all illustrated by the uniqueness of a particular wildflower. Titles of the thirty meditations begin with the word “when.” For example, When Grief is Fresh, or When You Can’t Turn the Clock Back, or When You Don’t Want to Read the Bible, or When You Feel Alone in the World.
My sense right off was that she is discussing things that not only I experience, but that she also experiences, as well as everyone walking along in faith with us. It was not if this occurs, but when, which establishes a sense of connection. When “all y’all” are experiencing these things, I don’t feel so odd; when “all y’all” are experiencing these things, I’m stirred to close the gap, to move towards you and look up together. These titles of her meditations speak of what her writing invokes—a sense of togetherness, grace, and deep understanding. That’s the first thing that kept me going.
Another reason I stayed is because I’m a wordie. I thrill to how words are so creative and powerful, and I found myself dwelling on her well-chosen words. I know finding the particular words we need to convey our thoughts can be arduous, but it galvanizes us when we find just the right word or phrase. I particularly liked her verbs…ones like coddling, mirroring, wrestling, cultivating, chewing, hushed, shelter, exchange, circumvent, or navigate. I think they stir me because I can picture them happening in my mind, I feel the energy of the action, and they match with my experiences or my hopes.
Numerous other factors kept me reading until the end of her book! Most of them I can corral under this category: I like her writing style.
- She engages my imagination.
- She writes at times about God’s heart for us, His insights into us, and the Scripture writer’s understanding of us. I was gripped by these as they speak to God’s love for me and His intimate knowledge of me.
- She draws my attention to Jesus repeatedly and to spiritual realities which “reflect spiritual earthly realities.” For example, “Because of Jesus, we get to daily remind ourselves that we are never alone.”
- She explores feelings and presents truth right next to each other so that I understand myself, my feelings, and my heart better; I became more aware of my underlying beliefs and attitudes and was able to lay them open to the Truth.
Yet, she leaves enough unsaid to allow the Holy Spirit to speak. As I read, questions, revelations, and insights would arise in my own spirit. Her writing style invited me down a path, ushering me to the gateway where I would discuss these directly with the Lord.
I recommend The Way of the Wildflower and hope you find it to be a book of grace and deep understanding, one that reinforces your delight in His promises, and draws you into a quiet place of greater dependance on our trustworthy God.
To be specific, anyone who wants to experience more freedom in their walk with the Lord, anyone who battles anxious thoughts and fears, anyone who wants to live dependently on Him and walk in the comfort of His care will find reading it a blessed adventure.
