Treasured by Leigh McLeroy

… for the true God-follower, successfully living out your faith is not about what you can make or conquer or sell – even if you are very good at all three. It’s about those every day moments in which you can obey and embody Christ and bring Him into each interaction with an unselfconscious grace.

– Treasured, page 155

Synopsis (complements of  Waterbrook press):

In Treasured, Leigh McLeroy considers tangible reminders of God’s active presence and guides readers in discovering evidence in their own lives of his attentive love.

“The idea for the book came from a cigar box filled with odds and ends of my grandfather’s life that arrived a few months after his death. Sifting through the objects in the box, I experienced him in a fresh new way. This made me wonder what treasures might be tucked away in Scripture that could frame God for me in an equally intimate, tangible way. This process also helped me uncover my own “treasures” of my walk with the Lord: objects that remind me of my history with him and his faithfulness to me,” says McLeroy.

Drawn from the pages of Scripture, the author considers twelve such treasures and personalizes their meaning for readers, such as a green olive branch that offers  proof of God’s “new every morning” mercy and a scarlet cord that demonstrates his willingness to adopt “strays” of every sort.

Weaving these treasures together with scenes from her personal history, Leigh McLeroy invites readers to discover God’s heart for them and embrace their unique role in his redemptive story.

Review (mine): After reading the opening chapter of this book, I feared that I had made a mistake.  I was pretty sure that this would be another overly sentimental book intended for women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant.  I didn’t think I would get anything out of it other than a contempt for womanly mushiness.  Thankfully, I was wrong.  The book did have mushiness, but it was so heartfelt and genuine, I couldn’t help but be moved.  In fact, I was so pleasantly surprised, I went to the author’s website and subscribed to her blog.  She is good!  I even went so far as to send her a personal email telling her how much I was enjoying the book.  She graciously wrote back and accepted my thanks.

One of the many things I enjoyed about this book is the author’s honestly.  She is honest about fears, hurts and struggles.   Much of this honesty is in regards to relational disappointments and finding contentment in the midst of being in her late 40’s and never married.  It is no coincidence that she often quotes Frederick Buechner.  Like Buechner’s work, much of the book is about finding God in the midst of seemingly ordinary events in everyday life.

The author chooses a meandering style which weaves together stories from personal experience and the Bible.  Some readers may find this style a bit choppy, but she does a great job at tying everything together at the end of each chapter.  While her take on the Bible stories is fresh, I have to admit that I enjoyed reading her personal stories much more.  This is probably because I am already familiar with the Bible stories and knew how they were going to end.

The book is about 200 pages, but is easy to get through and reads like a devotional.  I enjoyed the book and recommend it to you.  Like the quote at the top of this post, the author has so immersed herself in obeying, finding and loving God, the result is the transmittal of a seemingly unselfconscious grace.  Count this book as another one of her treasures!

Rating: 4/5 (Home run with McLeroy’s personal stories, but I wasn’t as engaged with the retelling of the familiar Bible stories.  If you would like to learn more about Leigh McLeroy and get a better feel for her writing, it is worth checking out the links below.  She puts out a short story each Wednesday and I am looking forward to getting these thoughts for the first time tomorrow.  Older editions of these “Wednesday Words” can also be viewed at the link below.)

Leigh McLeroy is the author of The Beautiful Ache and The Sacred Ordinary.  A frequent conference and event speaker, the author makes her home in Houston, Texas, and posts often on www.leighmcleroy.com and www.wednesdaywords.com.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. To learn more about or purchase this book at RandomHouse.com, click here.

Category: Reviews