As a person who has often put her tail between her legs and run, I have so been encouraged in reading Stay by Anjuli Paschall. Our humanness will, most times, call us to run from pain and to avoid the hard.

In the middle of a pandemic, we have no choice but to stay – stay home, stay in, and stay put. I would love to run, or to go away, but restrictions have made it so that one has no choice but to stay.

It hasn’t been easy for any of us, and it certainly has been more difficult for many. Yet it is in the hard and painful times, the ones which make us uneasy and anxious, Jesus calls us to stay and brings a depth of growth we would not have experienced otherwise.

The book is like a memoir, each chapter bringing a memory that is told with a transparency which is easily relatable. My mind was moved to school days, summer days, and parenting days. My heart was cracked open to remember days of loneliness, surrender, fear, scarcity, embarrassment, and love.

Every chapter was a reminder of how God meets us in all of those moments, calling us to live in those messes, to see Him in those messes, and to stay with Him in the messes.

My heart and mind were stopped by these thought provoking statements:

“We must understand in our heads and in our hearts who God is … Right theology doesn’t make a heart right.” (page 19)

“When I stay right where I am, with all that is beautiful and bent out of shape, I find love waiting for me.” (page 27)

“Mistakes are not my enemy but my guide back to Jesus.” (page 33)

“It seems paradoxical, backwards, and upside down, but I refuse to measure success by what I can see on this side of things … The soul focused on gaining power, influence, and admiration will only grow hungrier. The soul satisfied will be still. It will be free.” (pages 114-115)

And the most powerful one to me was:

“God’s invitation has always been the same: stay awake to love. From the beginning to the end, from the littlest to the largest, from the empty to the most mysterious moments of my life, it all has purpose. God is weaving His redemption story into mine …

I am reminded to enter, open, and come back to my story. The beginning, middle, and end are always the same. It is a never-ending, grace-breathing story for all mankind. Love, a gentle cadence that keeps the world in motion. God’s story is the endlessly poetic, patient, and perfect invitation to stay with Him because He is always, till the end of eternity, staying with me.” (page 204)

This was a beautiful and timely read. With each turn of the page, I found myself exhaling stress and anxiety, and breathing in hope and assurance.

“And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:20b, NLT)

**I received this book from Bethany House Publishers. The opinions I have expressed are my own. This post contains affiliate links.  If you click through and make a purchase, I will receive a small percent at no additional cost to you.

Today I am joining … Heart Encouragement and Let’s Have Coffee and Booknificent Thursday .