Pilgrim
If you ever want a good laugh, you should gather my older three children and have them do a live action version of The Pilgrim’s Progress. We have read many different adaptations of this book over their childhoods, really sinking into the original when they got to middle and high school. They love to whip out little pieces of it at random times and it usually ends with them yelling DON’T GO THROUGH THE GATE. Another favorite pastime of theirs is taking hymns and finding alternate settings, the more random the better. (You do not want to know how many Queen tunes actually fit traditional hymns.) They are also quite Biblically literate and can hold their own when adults start slinging Scripture about (usually because they’re trying to prove some point they feel to be socially pertinent, something my kids have little tolerance for). At this point, you’re probably wondering what on earth I’m getting at besides being a parent of children with some varied talents. Because my children are quick witted, well read, and creative, my husband and I simply cannot be on autopilot at the dinner table. The conversations flow incredibly quickly, and with 9 people around the table, it’s loud and energetic and entertaining, yet a bit overwhelming. Tom and I need to be ready to jump in. We need relevant content. We need to be good listeners, too. The kids want to go deeper into topics. They want to know more. They want to feed off each other and go to new levels. When books come into our home, they’re not just for one person. They get passed around because we like to share ideas. So when Pilgrim by Ruth Chou Simons arrived from the publisher, I sat down for a quick leafing through to see who would get this passed to them first. Spoiler: no one because there were so many interesting elements that I needed to show it to everyone at the dinner table.
Pilgrim is a collection of 25 essays/devotionals for readers, centered around qualities of God. The author weaves together truths about God, Scripture, hymns, and snippets of Pilgrim’s Progress. Each section is stand alone; the reader can read one independently of the others and understand it completely. However, they do build on each other and work to help the reader form a deeper understanding of God. God is consistently referred to as He and most hymns referenced are written by male authors. The author complemented her writing with beautiful art of her own, filling each page with multiple ways to interact with the truths. Included in each section are guideposts, summarizing these truths, and tying together the hymns, Scripture, and essays. It is a stunning presentation, a book that one would leave on their coffee table.
This book has several uses in your ministry. This would be a good option for a women’s or even couple’s group to use as the basis of a semester or two of sessions together. Reading a section each week and having online and in person conversations around the guideposts would lend to robust sessions. This could be a lovely gift for someone observing a milestone in their lives, one that would help those with some roots in their spiritual formation to find new growth. I could see pastors choosing some sections as the basis of a sermon series (the artwork included would be wonderful fodder for children’s moments). I would be very interested in using this in a young adult ministry. It is something that can easily be read at home, thought about throughout the week, and brought to a coffee house conversation. The guideposts are especially poignant through the lens of young adult life. If you have a home filled with boisterous children, Pilgrim may be something you will want to bring to the dinner table. Maybe your children aren’t going to throw down with the same level of snark as mine, but between the conversations you can have around the guideposts, how the illustrations accentuate the words, and some singing of favorite hymns, you may be pleasantly surprised to find that this book can actually stop the barreling freight train of energy and channel it into a cohesive and faith filled conversation. I know I was.
