A simple-yet-not-easy read. A unique conception of the journey of faith as the growth stages of a plant.
This book offers a really unique approach to pain that I was really blessed and encouraged by. His tone is formal conversational and reminded me of a calm David Goggins. I haven’t heard/read anything that talks about how to process pain in quite this way before. Hitting rock bottom usually is talked about as a disaster, a reckoning, the worst or darkest part in someone’s life. Frazier talks about it as a time to start sewing seeds – and of course! What better time to start sewing than when you’re on the ground! Seeds don’t germinate in any other place. Brilliant. He could have stayed stuck in his pain – and, from what he shares, it’s clear that he’s had more than his fair share during his life time – but he didn’t allow himself to. And he shares the tools and practices he used to put himself out of the miry clay along with the help of God.
Frazier also balances his personal story with edifying and inspiring the reader. He shares vulnerably about some excruciating things he went through without wallowing or demanding pity from the reader, which is really difficult to do well. He weaves snippets from his story, which he skillfully selects to illustrate his point, with suggestions for actions to take based on what worked for him without sounding preachy or accusatory. The way he shares his personal story is truly in service of the reader, which is also challenging to do well.
He ends each chapter with reflection questions that seem simple at first, but can really open up understanding if you engage with them seriously. One could finish this book in an afternoon, but you’d be missing the rich, heart healing that’s available if you slow down, use what you’re reading as a mirror into your own lives, engage with the questions and take this as an opportunity to get to know yourselves and pursue the healing that is yours in Christ.
