Christine Valters Paintner
Broadleaf Books, 237 pages | Published January 2, 2024
Christine Valters Paintner calls us to nourish ourselves with the “things that are life-giving, joy-bringing, peace-arising, purpose-revealing.” But first, we will have to create space; the liminal time of Lent is an opportunity to name and release the habits that distract us from living fully.
In a warm and invitational voice, Paintner describes a fast from excessive multitasking, rushing, false certainty and a scarcity mindset. Only then can we create room to embrace vulnerability, mystery, simplicity and God’s abundance. She never preaches. Instead, she tenderly describes the lives God wants for us, until we “discover a hunger to behold life as it is.” Only when we are ready does she introduce a weekly theme and simple practices (lectio divina, breath prayers, meditation, creative rituals and more) to encourage deeper engagement with God, Scripture and ourselves. While the reflection questions and content could be tailored to suit a small group, this is a particularly rich choice for individual reading.
Paintner respects that some of us struggle with “disordered eating,” and she clearly does not recommend that we abstain from food in harmful ways. Still, those who might be triggered by the language of fasting will find other options for Lenten devotional reading.
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