Listening to The Sacred Echo

Finished my latest read this morning - Margaret Feinberg’s The Sacred Echo: Hearing God’s Voice in Every Area of Your Life. Margaret is a friend of Catalyst and will be speaking at one of the lab sessions at this year’s event. The book came courtesy of Catalyst Filter. I’ve read several articles that she has written, but this is the first book of hers that I’ve read. After finishing I can say that it probably won’t be the last.

The premise behind the book is that when God wants to tell us something, he doesn’t just whisper it into our lives one time and then he’s done. Rather, through Scripture, people, and circumstance, He continually brings it before us time and time again - hence the idea of a Sacred Echo. Reading through the preface itself will hook you on its own (I know because I read it out loud to Andrea and she’s already informed me that she wants to read it now that I’m done). Here’s a sample…

Though my desire for God is great, it’s sadly not long until I lose that sense of wonder in the midst of daily duties. Like a hotline to God, prayer is available throughout the day, but I find myself forgetting to pick up the phone. ...

As far as my relationship with God, I sometimes feel like Dory in the animated movie Finding Nemo or Lucy (played by Drew Barrymore) in 50 First Dates. Wide-eyed and playful, I have chronic spiritual short-term memory loss. Almost as if each time God speaks, it’s just like the very first time - even if he’s said something a dozen times before. I sit in wonder of God’s voice - in the depth, the resolution, and the awe of the encounter. Then, I stop long enough to think, “Hey, that sounds familiar! I think I’ve heard that before.” ...

A thicker, more substantial answer is that God speaks frequently and repetitively because we’re so easily distracted. Like a surprise guest at a party, distraction can make a stealth entrance at an opportune time and steal the show. Maybe one of the primary reasons God echoes is so we keep our focus on the most important, not just the most imminent.

If the book falls short anywhere, and I’m sure this is largely just personal preferences, it is in the fact that she doesn’t talk about the concept itself enough. Rather, the concept acts as ‘bookends’ with the bulk of the content devoted to personal sacred echoes from Margaret’s own life. In this some are naturally more powerful than others. The book comes off in many ways as almost a peek into her own personal prayer journal, and because of this the echoes she talks about come across in a very personal and descriptive way. Were I, or anyone else, set out to do what she has done, we would come out with different echoes from our own life. For that reason I can’t fault was she talks about from a personal standpoint. The content is good, mind you, I was so enraptured by the concept that I would have loved to have her go into more detail talking about it more.

All in all - great, easy read. I took 14 pages of notes in my Moleskine out of only a little over 180 pages. Definitely worthy of a read if you’re looking for something you can pick up & read through in a week or two’s time (depending on your pace).

Posted 08.14.2008

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