Finding Selah: The Simple Practice of Peace When You Need It Most
By Kristen Kill (Zondervan)
Author, speaker and podcaster Kristen Kill writes Finding Selah from her personal experiences with the concept of selah, which appears more than 70 times in Psalms. Although experts don’t agree on its precise meaning, selah indicates a break, a quiet moment, perhaps to reflect on the importance of the previous words and prepare for those to come. In that vein, the mother of five shares discovering “the simple practice of peace” when she needs it most.
Kristen and her husband Josh began married life in a charming college town on the Puget Sound. Motherhood came as a welcome surprise coupled with the unwelcome surprise of postpartum depression, which she shares honestly as “tangles of my heart.” During a year as missionaries in Bavaria, a randomly assigned prayer partner and praying the Psalms helped move the young mom to selah.
Almost a decade and three more children later, the Kills’ world turns topsy-turvy. New York City offers opportunity but also a tiny apartment filled with two adults, four active children and a dog. A miscarriage and Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath send Kristen spinning for control “when selah and sorrow meet.” In their midst, she finds moments and methods for recapturing peace in Christ.
Chapters begin with beautiful quotes from Christian authors such as C.S. Lewis and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. In each, Kristen honestly discloses stories and her story. Women, particularly those rearing children, will appreciate Finding Selah for its universality of struggles, feelings and practical real-world hope. On the other hand, men will gain insights into the hearts of those they love.
Kathy Robinson Hillman, former president
Baptist General Convention of Texas
Waco
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