Books That Change Us

May 12, 2020 Uncategorized

I’m sure I’m not alone in this experience: every once in a while, my eyes fall on the very reading material I’m ready for. Sometimes we’re jolted awake by a real aha! moment.

My latest find is Falling Upward by Richard Rohr. He’s a Roman priest who writes and speaks about the spiritual life. He says that we have two halves of life: the first part is the hard work we do to establish our place in the world. Sometime, however, we encounter the biblical “stumbling stone” that we have no answer for, try as we might. When we recognize that vulnerable place, the second half of our spiritual life can begin. Only through emptying ourselves of our expectations and preconceptions can God begin to fill us with his plan for us. We “fall upward” into something new and life-giving. For instance, we can let others do what they’re going to do without our self-imposed pain of being judgmental.

OK, enough with the book report; enjoy God’s precious gift of May in Virginia!

— Brad Norris, Minister of Music