The Waiting Place

The Waiting Place by Eileen Button
Thomas Nelson, 2011
229 pages
Non-fiction; Essays; Inspirational
4.5/5 stars

Source: Received a free copy from Booksneeze in exchange for an honest review.

Expectation: I hoped for a companionable writing style and I got that in spades as Button drew me into her life. I got that in spades.

I wanted to read this as I am currently in my own waiting place; trying to figure out what I should do now that I'm graduated, submitting loads of job applications and hearing nothing in return, feeling like I should be out on my own instead of living with my parents has been really tough for me. 

Thus while not every essay was as powerful for me (I sympathize with Button's worries over her youngest son's health but I haven't had children yet and can't quite grasp the experience), the overall message of the stories rang true for me.  Some left me teary-eyed; some left me smiling in recognition; but all left me wanting more of Button's writing.  Immediately she engaged me and drew me into her life with her family and Christ.

I had expected more to read more about her relationship with Jesus but that is not the focus as she looks at the people in her life and especially her relationship with her pastor husband and his commitments to his mistress, The Church.  But she does see some higher power involved: as the back says, "To wait is human. To find life in the waiting place, divine."

I will definitely keep this book to reread over the years as I mature and learn firsthand some of the insights that Button shared about marriage, children, and adulthood.