{Though not a book specifically meant for Advent, this has been a life-giving read for me this Advent season — the season in which we celebrate waiting. We celebrate, in part, because we know the result of the wait — first, the arrival of the Christ, and second…someday…His return. But in every other season of waiting? Not so much a celebration as something to be endured. Or so I thought until I picked up Waiting for Wonder. Friends, it has changed the way I wait.}

Waiting for Wonder: Learning to Live on God’s Timeline by Marlo Schalesky

The book: (from the publisher) It’s easy to believe God when a promise is new. It’s hard when the years pass and nothing changes. It’s even harder when desperation strikes, your plans backfire, and still God does not fill the emptiness.

But what if, in this waiting, God is calling us to more?

Join author Marlo Schalesky on a unique, contemplative journey to reveal the wonder that is often missed when we find ourselves struggling to wait well. Walking through the life of the biblical character Sarah, one who knows what it means to wait, you will discover a glimpse of God’s character that will give you strength to keep hoping and praying for the desires of your heart.

Waiting for Wonder is a journey into the heart of God where you will wrestle with personal questions, think deeply about God’s true character, and learn to appreciate His divine work as you discover your own path to the promised land. Recapture your hope, restore your soul, and renew your vision of a wondrous Savior when you learn to live on God’s time.

Leader guide also available.

The author: Marlo Schalesky is an award-winning author of ten books, including Wrestling with Wonder: A Transformational Journey Through the Life of Mary. A regular speaker and columnist, she has also published nearly 1,000 articles in various Christian magazines, including Focus on the Family, Today’s Christian Woman, In Touch, and Marriage Partnership. Marlo lives with her husband, six young children, nine horses, two dogs, five cats, two parakeets, ten rabbits, two chinchillas, three hamsters, and a bunch of fish in a log home in Salinas, California.

Connect: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Genre: Non-fiction/Christian Life/Spiritual Growth

Reflection: We are dreamers, aren’t we? We love to dream big dreams, to envision how much richer our lives (and others’) will be when our dreams come true. Unfortunately, dreams-come-true seldom come delivered on a platter. Usually we must wait for them. And the waiting is hard — a cold, dark, inhospitable test of endurance. Though I know intellectually it can also be a time for tremendous growth, faith, and beauty, these are not what I tend to focus on. Until now. Waiting for Wonder has changed that.

When I open a book, I usually know within seconds if the writer’s voice, style, and choice of topic are going to resonate. Marlo Schalesky’s Waiting for Wonder was one I knew would click, and it did, from first page to last. Everything about it rang true to my spirit.

Because there are hundreds of books out there on any given subject, we choose the ones that connect dots for us in original ways. Here, Marlo took a very familiar story and rendered it completely fresh for me. I’m not kidding — I wouldn’t have supposed it could be done. Sarai’s story, I thought…I’ve been there so many times, it has surely been wrung dry for me. So I was amazed at all the ways Marlo opened my eyes to aspects of Sarai/Sarah’s story I’ve never seen before, but which have always been there in the pages of Scripture. She not only revealed them, but showed them to be relevant and applicable to me, to my life, today. She maintained Big Story perspective while immersed in the smaller story and revealed God in a new light in every chapter. She gave me new understanding and then upped the ante by offering still more by way of enlightenment, peace, compassion, and hope.

Friends, are you waiting for something? A dream, a healing, a baby, a reconciliation, a spouse? Does your spirit grow dry during the wait? I urge you to pick up this book. Savor its insights and comfort, as I did. You will find balm for your weary soul as you discover — as Marlo writes — that the woman God created you to be is found in the waiting.

Thanks to Litfuse Publicity and Abingdon Press for providing me this book free of charge. All opinions are mine.

After words: Have you read Marlo’s Wrestling with Wonder? I so appreciated Waiting for Wonder, I think I’m going to have to get my hands on that one as well.