Look to Creation for a Story of Hope and Flourishing

“Remember, now, we’re looking for interesting shapes in nature,” I advised my grandson as he picked a tiger lily to add to his collection. We ranged far and wide in search of ferns, winged seeds, leaves both pinnate and palmate, and anything else that caught his eye. His new bright red T-shirt was stretched out on the deck waiting for him to arrange his beautiful collection.

Manifold means “many and various,” and if you’ve never paid attention to all the different shapes of leaves, fungi, and flowers, go for a nature collection walk with a four-year-old! God could have designed one green thing and called it “leaf,” one petaled beauty and called it “flower,” but he bent over backward to make fiddlehead ferns and lichen, daisies and dahlias, a complex and creative ecosystem that puts his glory on display.

Lore Ferguson Wilbert is a fully-grown human, yet none of this wonder has been lost on her. Because she has been nourished and inspired by the beauty of the outdoors throughout her life, she turned there first for images of hope when disappointment with God and disillusionment with her fellow Christ-followers seemed to be the biggest thing in the room.

Taught by the beauty and death that coexist on the forest floor, The Understory is Wilbert’s weaving of her own experiences during the pandemic and her response to the political unrest and church-based angst that followed. Her beautifully written accounts of resilience, rootedness, and malleability in the natural world serve readers with both comfort and challenge.

Whether we’ve moved geographically, changed church affiliations, experienced loss, or are simply navigating very personal upheaval, our hearts long for stability. The understory of a forest, the growth that lives beneath the canopy, and even the soil, litter, and compost hold messages of “health and wisdom and indwelling light.”¹

By grace, we are enabled to accept what has been given with an open hand, to receive the given without allowing our longing for the “not given” to slay our gratitude or our ability to live present to the gift of our given life.

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Fortunately, Wilbert resists the urge to derive “ten easy lessons for abundant living” from her observations on old-growth forests and whatever might be happening under the shadow of a gorse bush. Instead, she shares the record of her own grief, pain, and regret and, having done the research, is qualified to report that “pain is a part of development” and “however awful and terrible our pain is, God redeems pain.”

What Other Reviewers Are Saying

“”Wilbert writes with a kind of desperate longing—hungry, thirsty, and violently pursuing the truth of God in our stories—and the result is glorious.” —A.J. Swoboda

“The Understory speaks to the quiet grief many of us carry. In naming that sorrow, Wilbert offers us a rare gift: raw honesty devoid of cynicism.” —Amanda Held Opelt

“Powerful, poised, and poetic. Lore Ferguson Wilbert preaches like a prophet and writes like a friend who makes you feel safe and seen.” —Rachel Marie Kang

1. A line from “A Vision” by Wendell Berry quoted in The Understory ↩︎

Holding you in the light,

In The Understory, @lorewilbert shares the record of her own grief, pain, and regret and, having done the research, is qualified to report that “pain is a part of development.” @BrazosPress

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The Understory is a great follow-up to Lore’s earlier book A Curious Faith. You’ll find my review of that book HERE.

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The Newsletter: Living Our July Days

On the third Thursday of every month, I send a newsletter with biblical encouragement straight to my subscribers’ email inboxes. Frequently, I share free resources, and the newsletter is where everything lands first. I’m committed to the truth that women can become confident followers of God and students of his Word, and I want to help you along that path.

Looking for Challenging Devotional Reading that Encourages You to Seek Intimacy with God Every Day?

As you know, I’m committed to the truth that women can become confident followers of God and students of his Word, and it’s my goal to help you along that path. At Living Our Days, I provide biblical content and resources to encourage biblical literacy and faithful living, and now I’m sharing devotional content on the YouVersion app. Visit my profile page to get free access to the reading plans!

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Many thanks to Brazos Press and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book to facilitate my review, which is, of course offered freely and with honesty.