Book review: Becoming, A Spiritual Journey

★★★★

I struggled in deciding on a rating for this one. For myself, I’d give it three stars; I just didn’t relate well. It’s a short little book, and even at that, it seems to lose a bit of focus toward the end and perhaps could have been even shorter. But for others, who have shared more of the pain that Pamela has (both physical and emotional), the book will prove inspirational and comforting, worthy of a five-star ranking. I settled on a compromise of four stars.

Rev. Feeser is opinionated but gentle as she shares the wisdom of a life still Becoming. This is a book for the heart, not so much for the head … a bit different from the sort of book I usually review. Yet it was a pleasant break, sometimes even delightful … and sometimes disturbing. Like Job in the Bible, Pamela endured a lot under God’s watchful eye. Like Job, she simply could never give up on Him. While her understanding and picture of God evolved over time, her love for the One Who Loved Her Into Being grew only stronger … overcoming periods of darkness which found her railing in anger at Him. In her love-hate relationship with the Creator, love won by a landslide, and this shared love is clearly her comfort and strength today.

“Bottom line, God, it’s you and me. I know we can do it.”

Spiritual living is characterized by creative chaos, insists Rev. Feeser. Yet within that chaos, her escape was music and poetic verse. Music appears to have grounded her, given her stability in a world of chaos. Over and over she found God hiding in the notes and the controlled breathing of playing wind instruments (Spirit = breath of God). I mention this because for all the writing I do about God, I know so very little about Him, and I think that for one person at least … God is music. I’m glad Pamela found Him there; we should all be so lucky.