Quaker Summer

My friend Carrie recommended Quaker Summer by Lisa Samson.  Really, anything by Lisa Samson, she said.  I wasn't impressed by Tiger Lillie, but decided to go ahead and give Quaker Summer a try.

I'm glad I did.

I wouldn't say Samson is a wonderful writer, but she did make me care about the characters in this book, and she made me think--she made several wonderful points I would love to sit and discuss with a friend.

• "Every year I think there must be more to life.  And every year, despite a new car or a trip to a new land, new milestones and triumphs in my son's life, or a redone deck, pool, a spa, or an entertainment system, I take stock and think once again I was made for more than this.  But I love my stuff" (9).
• "(youth group) where the kids learned all about the issues they were facing these days, not about being like Jesus, being wise, being loving, or, gasp, being meek.  That's right, folks, let's make it all about you and then go have pizza" (58).
• "We tend to fit the gospel into our lives and not our lives into the gospel" (68).
• "Maybe we don't live for Christ because we don't live like Christ.  Maybe I don't live like Christ because I've taken the Man out of Him, made what He did here so mysterious and unreachable that I've taken away any possibility of success in imitating Him.  But He wouldn't have told us to be like Him if it was impossible" (146).
• "(volunteering at the shelter) wasn't what I thought it would be.  Not even close" (236).
• "I wonder how many Jaces are out there.  Men and women held behind in their calling because their spouses hold on to their ankles in one way or another, refusing to let them step out" (247).
• "So here's the bottom line.  Do I want to stand before God's throne and say I kept a clean house, I made sure my child was athletic, musical, artistic and got good grades, I was present at all the important church activities, and I changed the oil in my car every three thousand miles because I was such a good steward of my blessings?  Is that all I will have to show for the gift of life?" (270)

I don't know that I'll be reading more by Lisa Sampson, but I did think it was good to ponder how often the modern woman can get caught up in busyness--even the busyness of serving others--and feel empty and unfulfilled in the midst of it.  I appreciate the way this book pushed the main characters out of their comfort zone (because I think we all need that!), but it wasn't just the "big stuff" of  volunteering in homeless shelters, it includes the so-called little things of connecting with the lonely widower next door.