Jayne Bowers

Whenever I'm browsing through a bookstore or library, I stroll along picking up books and peeking inside. The things I've learned by following this practice are amazing! Plus, if an author really piques my curiosity or interest, I'll usually decide to read more of the book. On this page, you'll find excerpts from Musings that I hope you'll enjoy enough to consider buying your own copy. You'll also find certain passages from other books that will give you "food for thought." Enjoy!

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Mine:

I'll change this excerpt regularly, and this week's is about perseverance and faith despite adversity in our lives.

Job 23: 8-9

“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I cannot perceive him. On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him.”

Fortunately, we know the end of the story. Trusting God despite hardships too many to recount, Job is again blessed by God. In fact, he lives to see four generations of his family, the end of his life more prosperous and fruitful than the beginning of it. And yet throughout the book of Job, we read that he sometimes feels vexed, forgotten, and perhaps confused. Regardless of his numerous woes and tribulations, however, Job never forgets that God is there, the source of all life and all blessings.

Nothing has changed in the 21^st century. Despite the circumstances in our lives, He is our Creator, the Master of the universe, an ever present help in time of trouble. Reminders that God loves us and that He is always with us are everywhere. On the bathroom wall of Mrs. Mitchell’s beach condo is a familiar framed prayer entitled “Footprints.” Reading it again, I’m reassured that even when we’re in the very depths of despair, experiencing loss, disappointment, and a true “ night of the soul,” He is still there. When the experience is behind us, perhaps hindsight will assure us that without His guidance and support, we never would have made it to the light.

Why we feel deserted at times, I don’t know. Perhaps at those times we need to learn some hard lessons, some lessons that we wouldn’t be able to master if He were to hold us by the hand every step of the way. Perhaps these dark periods are there so that we can better learn to trust Him.

“It’s hard for me to believe that people who read very little (or not at all in some cases) should presume to write and expect people to like what they have written, but I know it’s true….Can I be blunt on this subject? If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” Stephen King, On Writing

"Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least." Goethe

"No matter what form our job or activity takes, the content is the same as everyone else's; we are here to minister to human hearts. If we talk to anyone, or see anyone, or even think of anyone, then we have the oportunity to bring more love into the universe. From a waitress to the head of a movie studio, from an elevator operator to the president of a nation, there is no one whose job is unimportant to God." Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love

“God's will most often happens in spite of us, not because of us....God's will is not hidden like a buried treasure. We do nothave to control or force it.We do not have to walk on eggshells in order to have it happen" Melody Beattie, The Language of Letting Go

"I must find a balance somewhere, or an alternating rhythm between these two extremes; a swinging of the pendulum between solitude and communion, between retreat and return." Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gift From The Sea