My book review of The Well-Watered Woman by Gretchen Saffles
Description:
“Discover the bottomless, refreshing Well of God’s Word-and experience a fullness and peace beyond your circumstances. In the chaos of our everyday, it can be difficult to live out and apply the truths of Scripture. We want more of Jesus, but we find ourselves looking to our own lives and accomplishments for our worth and identity. And while that may buoy us for a time, we’re often left feeling dried up, discouraged, and longing for more.
Gretchen Saffles knows what it’s like to feel overwhelmed and unable to flourish. In The Well-Watered Woman, Gretchen leads us to the Well of fullness, the Word of freedom, and the Way of fruitfulness. She teaches that God’s Word will satisfy us for all eternity.
Using Scripture and her own personal story of surrender, Gretchen offers spiritually hungry women tangible tools to not only know Jesus more but to live a life that thoroughly enjoys Him, seeks Him, and follows Him into freedom.”
My review:
This book has been written for those of us who feel discouraged by the lack of growth in our faith, those of us who long to flourish, those of us who carry around an empty cup thirsting for refreshment…. The days leading up to the arrival of my copy I was feeling pretty exhausted, a deep tiredness that permeated my entire being. I didn’t have much motivation to do anything so the chores were done half-heartedly and then I went on strike – I spent my afternoons reading, escaping really into the pages of my novel. The day that this book arrived it felt like it was an answer to a prayer that I hadn’t really been very specific about, all I’d been able to mutter was a simple “HELP me Lord” prayer. By chapter 2 I felt like Gretchen had been written her book just for me. I had spent all afternoon lapping up every word from the pages and as I did her words poured a sweet balm into my soul. For the next few days I spent as much time as I could reading and as I did I found the healing balm seeping into every corner of my being! It only took me
5 days to finish this book because I made it a priority and because I was SO thirsty to absorb every single word.
Some of my favourite moments (and I narrowed it down to my top 7 which was hard):
“You may be dried up right now, but that doesn’t have to be your final destination. Along this journey, there is grace to be grasped, hope to be held, peace to be found, and promises to be mined.” (Pg 10)
“Tears can be a downpour that God uses to grow, nourish, and heal us from the inside out.” (Pg 17)
“His (God’s) goodness and unfailing love hold us together when life is falling apart.” (Pg 25)
“….Truth says that God is bigger than anything we fear in this life (see Isaiah 41:10).” (Pg 187)
“The gospel uproots the lies buried in our souls and plants truth in their place.” (Pg 39)
“Today’s decisions affect tomorrow’s destination. Today’s faithfulness affects tomorrow’s fruitfulness. Today’s investment affects tomorrow’s booms.” (Pg 259)
Finally: “I’ve often struggled with the temptation to live for “someday” instead of right now.” (pg 250) Gretchen goes on the explain that she discovered that there is no such thing as the perfect “someday” because all we have is today, right now! I loved that SO much because I have found myself dreaming about my “someday”, found myself getting completely distracted in my dreaming that I stop doing. Right now I feel SO far from my dream launching, SO far from where I want to be, SO far from where I expected I would be by now, SO far from my “someday”. But I see now that I need to embrace TODAY, in all its challenges and messiness, enjoy the now whilst knowing and trusting that God is working, ALWAYS working in the unseen.
Gretchen quotes John Piper, Elizabeth Elliot, Charles Spurgeon, Amy Carmichael, Andrew Murray, Warren Wiersbe and many others. She weaves her testimony within the pages, sharing openly with honesty and vulnerably, detailing the struggles that she has faced and the lessons she has learned.
I’ve now purchased more copies which will be gifts for my family and friends, those who I pray will find encouragement within the pages. I highly recommend this book.
Many blessings,
Keona
