Jamie Moon’s Reviews > What Grows in Weary Lands: On Christian Resilience > Status Update

“My whole life is a womb. And whatever I feel at the moment—whether or not it seems anything much is happening—I am being formed for something more. We wait in hope to be brought, blinking, beloved, wide awake, into the light of day. The end is an arrival.”

“We stay in the cell because God himself is waiting there, in the furnace and the desert—in the distress and disorientation, of our lives, our work, our relationships, our questions, and our commitments. The cell becomes the site of theophany.”
p. 68

“The Arabic word for patience comes from the same word as ‘to confine or contain.’ This hints that patience is impossible to learn until we find ourselves confined…in reality, the confinements of our lives are the scaffolding required to learn to love abundantly, because love is patient.”

“Faith is more craft than feeling.” p.31

It would be frightening how accurately Warren describes what I’ve been feeling of late—down to one of the exact same metaphors I’ve used—if it wasn’t so encouraging to be seen and validated in this place. I’ve laughed out loud and cried already, so grateful this was written.

“I cannot force fire. I cannot make it spark to life on my timeline, through my skill, or by my willpower. It's a mystery how it comes at all.

But I can wait. I can keep going. The practices of our faith, acts of perseverance and trust that may feel futile, are at last the fragile kindling set ablaze by the Spirit, at just the right time. In the end, it all feeds the flame. In the end, nothing will be wasted.”