May 19 1997

ARTICLE TOOLS

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Walking on Water: Faith and Doubt in the Christian Life,by Wayne Brouwer (CRC Publications, 135 pp.; $9.50, paper);

Hear Me, O God: Meditations on the Psalms,by Wayne Brouwer (CRC Publications, 303 pp.; $12.85, paper). Reviewed by Phyllis Ten Elshof, news editor of the Banner.

Finding time for devotions last fall seemed impossible. In addition to working full-time as an editor, I taught a college course. Between lesson plans and work deadlines, I barely had time for meals, much less luxuriating in Scripture.

Not that Bible reading wasn't important. I have always tried to carve out space for personal Bible study. Over the years I have done Bethel Bible Study, Bible Study Fellowship, church Bible study, and Bible correspondence courses. I have plugged the Bible on tape into my walking routine, listened to it in the car, sung it to my children, and memorized it while scrubbing the house.

Perhaps the most precious time I spent with the Bible was four years ago, when I was recuperating from cancer surgery. During the two-week hiatus from work, I'd often settle into a recliner in a warm patch of morning sun and immerse myself in Scripture.

I thought back on that time of healing, regretting that I had since allowed life to crank into overdrive. Here I was again, scrabbling for seconds of quality time with the Lord. How could I find them?

While drying my hair one morning, I had an epiphany. I shoved aside the novel I had been reading and reached for the devotional Walking on Water. I positioned the book and the Bible to the left of my curling iron and started reading. In the 20 minutes it took to blow-dry and curl my hair, I had worked through Scripture, devotional, and prayer. Minutes later I was off to work, body and soul prepped to ...