Get Your Life Back: Everyday Practices for a World Gone Mad

 

By John Eldredge

Nelson Books     2020

213 pages     Spiritual

Get Your Life Back by John Eldredge was the first book that I read as I contemplated surviving the pandemic. I actually received it from the publisher and then used it with my spiritual growth book group. We found it so meaningful that we discussed it (on Zoom, of course) over the span of two months.

John Eldredge is a pastor, counselor, and author. In this book, he offers everyday spiritual practices “for a world gone mad.” The fascinating thing is that while he wrote the book pre-pandemic, it fits so perfectly to our lives now. He is speaking of the pace of life, the crush of media, and the craziness of the political scene. I read the book from all of those perspectives but primarily of the place the pandemic has brought us to—where we can’t go out, where we can’t see family and friends, and where we can’t celebrate holidays. I wondered if he had written the book a few months later, what would he have added to his everyday practices.

At the outset, Eldredge asks these questions:

·         Are you happy most of the time”

·         How often do you feel lighthearted?

·         Are you excited about your future?

·         Do you feel deeply loved?

·         When was the last time you felt carefree?

If you are like me, you can’t answer those questions positively. To that end, Eldredge offers spiritual suggestions and practices that can bring you into focus, calmness, and spiritual awareness. The first suggestion that I tried and found beneficial is to insert the practice of the One Minute Pause into my day. That means to stop, breathe deeply, and calm myself down before I moved forward. Another practice I have really found beneficial is to enjoy the nature that is around me. That practice, for me, means to celebrate something that I see outside every day. It could be a new bird at the birdfeeder, or the mother and baby deer in the yard. I have been writing that moment down with a brief explanation of why it was meaningful to me.

 The most beneficial practice for me has been to offer myself some kindness. I tend to be a person who is constantly putting the needs of others ahead of my own. I had to work hard to take some Miriam breaks. One of my friends found the practice of cutting out technology and the news to be the most helpful for her.

Eldredge offers examples from his own life, which makes the book very personal and healing. I found myself relating on a very real level with his experiences and adding his stories to my own. I connected his stories and my stories, moving  to a higher level of spiritual growth, longing for the peace of God in my life.

And herein became a small problem with the book. Eldredge speaks of God as “he.” I found that to be an annoyance, and I had to work to get around it. I appreciated so much what I was learning and I was growing as I read the book, but I could not get around the pronoun. Additionally, there is a chapter that speaks of evil and the devil. My belief system has little room for this, so I chose not to read it. Others in my book club felt the same way. But we all felt that we had gained so much that we could read around that chapter.

We used Get Your Life Back as a discussion book, but Eldredge does have a study guide and videos to go with the book, so it could be a course over several sessions.

Get Your Life Back came to me at an appropriate time in my life, and I continue to benefit from what I gained from reading it. The Publisher’s Weekly review says, “this restorative guide will appeal to faithful readers wishing to slow down their lives to live out God’s plan.”