How a book about waiting challenged me: Review of The In-Between by Jeff Goins

For years, I’ve been eager for the next stage of life. The next move. The next … whatever. And I realized that in the process, I was missing out on the right now.

Jeff Goins’ new book The In-Between meets me where I’m at and propels me not toward the next thing but toward the now.

He writes: “Maybe the ‘good stuff’ isn’t ahead of or behind us. Maybe it’s somewhere in between. Right in the midst of this moment, here and now.”

The In-Between is a book about waiting, and while that might not sound interesting (I’ll admit, I was skeptical), in truth, it’s one of the best books I’ve read this year. (And I received a free digital copy of the book in exchange for a review.)

Goins has an approachable style of writing where he hits on some big spiritual truths but not in an in-your-face way. It’s like meeting a friend for coffee and listening to him tell stories. That’s what he does here, tell of his in-between experiences, when he was waiting for the next big thing, the next stage of life, the next step in God’s plan for his life, and what he learned.

Throughout the book, Goins offers us the opportunity to embrace the waiting times and let them shape us. One of the most powerful statements of the whole book is this: “Maybe, I thought, God is less concerned with exactly what I’m doing and more concerned with who I’m becoming.”

Challenging and freeing at the same time.

I connected with it in so many ways. (And while it’s subtitled “a spiritual memoir” I didn’t really think of it that way. But that’s not a drawback.)

It’s a short read, full of encouragement and honest looks at the times when Goins got it wrong. His honesty and openness about his life is one of the charms of his writing.

If you find yourself in a period of waiting, you’ll find The In-Between a helpful resource to endure it, and maybe even enjoy it.

Watch this book trailer for more of a taste of the message.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/kohp0qCM9Jo]