“Who needs to know they are loved today? Who can you show hospitality to?”
In this forty-day journal, Proctor provides a blueprint for discovering one’s inner spirit and understanding that unconditional devotion to the Lord is the pathway to genuine happiness. Digging even deeper, this surrender to Christ is the ultimate remedy not just for one’s own liberation from the grip of material vices, but also for building a more cohesive, kinder society that truly believes in its oneness. In this journal, the author avoids imbuing the work with an overabundance of scripture. On the contrary, her prayers take the theme of the Bible passage quoted at the top of each entry and then use it to reflect on the road she has personally traveled, giving her instant relatability.
Interactive in nature, Proctor’s authenticity and unyielding faith prompt audiences to dig deeper, become more introspective, and truly question how the Lord is working through them even in the darkest of days. Interestingly, each section ends with a prayer and a journal space that invite audiences to feel less like spectators in the reading experience and more like participants. Proctor’s knack for making her audience feel more present is commendable. For instance, she shares the heart-wrenching experience of losing her own father and coming to terms with that permanence in raw sensory detail. Yet, even in losing her father, she embraces the one ethereal constant, a constant that does not discriminate: God’s comfort and peace.
As human beings, the tendency is to chase that which we can’t have, to search beyond ourselves despite knowing that what we seek is within us. Through a series of metaphors, such as God as the artist, Proctor urges the downtrodden, the discouraged, and the discontent to choose to walk the path paved by the Lord. Examining each of these states of being, the author observes that each one is temporary, resulting from being deprived of a material treasure that “can either be destroyed by elements of nature or stolen by thieves.” Conversely, God’s love, the peace he can offer, is celestial and eternal, untarnished by earthly elements.
At her core, Proctor seems unafraid to tackle life’s inequities, its myriad challenges. However, she is adamant that the response to these obstacles determines the values we are instilled with. For example, forgiveness and compassion are qualities often forged by going through one’s own trials and tribulations. Though challenges are inevitable, the author asks her readers for a simple action: hold one’s faith tightly. Using a personal anecdote about visiting family in Arkansas, Proctor describes turbulence and hearing a mother comfort her daughter: “Hold on tight, baby, it will be all right.” It may not always seem this way, but God is holding our hands and uplifting our journey to its intended destination, buoyed by humans’ own inherent service from a pure heart.
Whether it’s the serenity of beginning one’s day with the choir of birds against a pristine lake backdrop or simply trusting in the divine timing of the Lord, this journal eliminates many of the complexities that are trademark characteristics of faith-based works. Instead, Proctor emphasizes that one’s humanness is a byproduct of God’s own workmanship. Above all else, Proctor’s efforts provide readers with meaningful tools to discover their own path through devotion and spirituality to a world of everlasting inner peace and comfort.
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