Let there be light!

Seeing in the Dark: finding God’s light in the most unexpected places by Nancy Ortberg

About this book: Christians are supposed to be “the light of the world.” Yet we seem to spend most of our time stumbling in the dark. We want answers carved in stone, and instead we get uncertainty. We want a clearly marked path and a panoramic view of the future, and God gives us only fleeting glimpses of what lies ahead―and just enough light to take the next step.

So what do we do?

We take the next step.

In her much-anticipated follow-up to Looking for God, Nancy Ortberg takes readers on a journey that began thousands of years ago. From an ancient cave in Turkey to the California coast, Nancy highlights the often unexpected, sometimes imperceptible, yet always extraordinary means God uses to light our way through even the most painful and challenging moments in life.

About the author: Nancy Ortberg is the Director of Leadership Development at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, in Northern California, and the author of Seeing in the Dark: Finding God’s Light in the Most Unexpected Places and Unleashing the Power of Rubber Bands, Lessons in Non-Linear Leadership.  A highly sought-after speaker, Nancy has been a featured presenter at the Catalyst and Orange conferences, and has been a regular contributor to Rev! Magazine.  She and her husband, John, live in the Bay Area and have three grown children: Laura, Mallory, and Johnny. You can connect with Nancy on Facebook.

Genre: Non-fiction/Christian Living/Personal Growth

Why I read this book: for Tyndale House Publishers for review

Reminds me of…Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist

Will especially appeal to… seasoned believers, especially women, who could use a shot of encouragement.

This story matters because…it reminds us that no matter how dark or confusing our circumstances, God lights our path, one step at a time…

My take: Funny how often I receive a book that contains precisely the message I need to hear at that given moment. Case in point: it took only a few pages for me to connect with the author of Seeing in the Dark, to feel she understood exactly where I am these days–and to know she had something wise to say about it.

Where am I, exactly? Well, neither here nor there, really. I find myself in a place of transition, on so many levels. And transition–where few things feel settled or certain–can be hard for a girl like me who likes to know.

These days I’m aware as never before of the complexity and texture of life. Not much appears as black and white. Instead my world is filled with shifting circumstances and challenges that require near constant discernment. Which feels a lot like darkness, where what I need most is Light to guide me.

Apparently Nancy Ortberg agrees. She says:

“Living in between is hard work. It’s much simpler to make a choice, color it black or white, draw a line. But even though this living in between is more difficult, it’s better. Definitely better. What lies in between is nuance, richness, and meaning. It’s only in the in-between that we can live in color, with heartaches and joys combining hues.”

Ortberg reveals her strength as a mentor in not only her transparency, but also in her grasp of metaphor and ability to relate her circumstances to her readers’. I found her reflections on “living torn” and the reality of life’s hard paradoxes both comforting and encouraging: “…embracing pain may be one of the deepest and most profound ways to abundant life…. The in-between space is where God meets us and grows us in our understanding of who he is. Only tested faith is a personal possession.”

Scarcely 120 pages long, Seeing in the Dark is a quick but potentially invaluable resource for anyone who’s struggling to know their way, and who longs to learn from someone who’s been there.

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Thanks to Tyndale House Publishers for providing me a free copy to review. All opinions are mine.

After words: What does “living in between” mean to you?