This is a beautiful book with poetic prose and gorgeous imagery. It’s built around the rhythms of seasons, and gave me great hope as I read it during the quarantine. It’s a perfect reminder that God is still in control in all the rhythms of our lives, just as he has been since creation began.

I enjoy escaping through lovely language that transports me to deep wells of thought, and this book is an ideal escape. It’s deep and rich, which helps me ponder wonderful truths about God. If you love poetry, nature imagery, and contemplative prose, you’ll love this book.

Quotes I’ve Enjoyed:
“How could a world so full of trouble and pain warrant careful attention, be worth lingering in? Yet I’m convinced that God can be found in both: the beauty and the pain.”

“We don’t like to hang suspended; we prefer to arrive. But if we can summon the courage to linger and look, mystery may captivate us–and offer exactly what we need.”

“When our eyes open to the pain, the danger, the trouble, it takes courage to pry our hearts open long enough to come alive. But when we live closed off and hardened, we pave over the garden with concrete; we shut the door to possibility, to coming alive.”

I received a preview copy of All Shall Be Well from Netgalley.

Using the rhythms of Earth as an illustrative guide, Catherine McNeil looks at how to live well through the seasons of life both physically and spiritually. What can be learned from the promises of spring, the bright sun of summer, the harvest of fall, and the darkening days of winter? How does God want us to live during the ups and downs of life? How do we persevere and stay strong to the finish?

The Christian life is never easy, and McNeil fully admits that. She shares from experience and the wisdom gathered from others, and brings truths to life with illustrations that are easy to grasp. Her advice on how to stay close to God through the various seasons of life is soaked in Scripture and delivered from a place of humility and compassion. Some Christian life books can feel like they are written like a textbook. Others feel like you are sitting down and having coffee with the author. This one is different from either of those. It almost feels like McNeil has invited you into experience an art show or play that she’s put together to reveal the truths. She has an artful writing style that draws the reader in and brings things to life in vivid paint strokes, but also has a calming affect. I haven’t really come across a similar writing style very frequently. I also like that there is something for everyone in here, regardless of where they are in their Christian walk. It’s a thought-provoking read, but also refreshing. Recommended to Christian readers who are looking for a Christian life read that is a little different from the norm.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.I am an avid reader of anything that teachers readers from the seasons. This book was so easy to read. I read it in two sittings. I enjoyed it.

Only one thing really stood out to me as something I've never heard before on the topic of seasons. I will be chewing on this quote for quite some time:

"N. T. Wright writes, 'This is part of the point of Easter that is very hard for us to think about: Easter commands us to think about a non-corruptible physicality, about a physical world that isn’t subject to decay and death anymore.' I read Wright’s words on Easter Day to my eleven-year-old son, and he pondered them. 'A garden that can grow forever, without compost? Without soil?' he asked, incredulously. Yes. This is the incredible, astonishing hope of the Resurrection: a life without death. A garden without soil. Can it be? This sort of earth is literally impossible, unbelievable."

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.