Make Room for God by M. Germaine Hustedde is, in a word, delightful. Here are more words: The book is poetic, thoughtful, witty and astute as it explores the tension of everyday living and the search for Self, which is ultimately the exploration for the Living God of creation.
At the book’s heart is the call to rise from the slumber of what T.S. Eliot called our “twittering” world and pay attention to the gift of life unfolding before us. She challenges us to “remember the wonderful things God has done for us and to live in wakeful, grateful fidelity.”
Hustedde’s series of short chapters explore the differences between being and becoming; the search for identity in a material world often at odds with the inner world of the soul; the nature of pure potentiality in the development of our psychological lives; and the push/pull of true spiritual liberty. Along the way, she offers witty anecdotes from her own life that ground her philosophical ideas with concrete footings. For instance, when a young orphan notices a splash of spaghetti sauce on the author’s blouse, it becomes a reminder to slow down; the time she had a private audience with Pope Paul VI relates nicely to her discourse on purity.
Some minor quibbles: The text contains some copyediting issues, such as misplaced commas and periods, the language can sound outdated (“bade to betake himself”), and clichés remain (“All of life is a stage for the drama of living”).
But overall, Hustedde’s voice is strong, genuine and has the cadence of someone who has lived a sometimes difficult, but ultimately beautiful life. “How do we come to deep, more intense experience of the Holy Other?” she asks. This book offers many answers that will aid a reader’s journey toward the sunrise of enlightenment. Fans of Ruth Burrows and Parker Palmer will find much to enjoy here, including the author’s poetry, which yearns with a holy longing.
Also available in hardcover and ebook.
