All Swirling and Weaving: Reflections on Reading Fiction and Growing in Faith

Jesus' invitation is simple enough: "Come, follow me" (Matthew 4:19). But both the conditions of our culture and the conditions of our hearts can make following him difficult. We need help re-tuning our hearts to the good news of Jesus and the, often, slow ways of God. The habit of reading fiction can serve as one of our greatest allies. A good book can open our own stories in new ways. Reading slows us down. It invites us to pay attention to the details of life. And following Jesus only happens in the details. We can only walk in faith, hope, and love within the unique circumstances of our lives. Inspired by the wisdom and wonder of writers like Wendell Berry, James McBride, and Marilynne Robinson, All Swirling and Weaving models how the reading life can help us see the ways God is at work in our own stories. With humor, vulnerability, and a pastoral heart, Douglas Basler weaves together the fruit of reading twelve contemporary novels with Biblical reflection and experiences from his own life and ministry. Fiction has the power to renew our Christian imagination in ways other reading does not.