“That bodysuit that snaps at the crotch that you insist on wearing with high-waisted jeans and a Brighton belt is a mistake.”
100% percent. It was a mistake in the early 90s and, bless it, it is a mistake in 2017. (I’m looking at you, high school girls.)
Scattered throughout Melanie Shankle’s soon-to-be-released book, Church of the Small Things, are random lists of things she wished she would have known. What she wished she would have known as a kid. In college. About God when she was younger. Her list of things may have well been drawn from my own diaries and journals. “Gah!” (As Melanie would say) What I wouldn’t love to have a few do-overs with the knowledge I have now.
Melanie writes with the fine art of mixing sarcasm, love, humor and Jesus in just the right combination. Her ability to bring you to tears with a story only to end it with a sarcastic one-liner is brilliant. It’s one of my favorite things about her writing style, and is evident in her other books, but not as wonderfully as this one.
Church of the Small Things really is all. the. things. It’s Southern goodness (as some do believe Texas is part of the south). It’s your childhood brought back in vivid color and emotion. It’s the best of your younger years and a path to laugh to the worst parts of them. It’s a reminder of why AquaNet and “mall bangs” were never a good idea. It’s the sweetest memories of life. And, above all, it’s a reminder that God does have a greater calling on our lives, no matter how bad we think we’ve screwed it up.
“I spent many year wringing my hands over God’s will for me and worrying that I was going to miss the whole thing while I was selling doors for a door company or cholesterol drugs for a pharmaceutical company. What I realize now is that God used every one of those experiences to build my character, to teach me perseverance and dedication, to help me figure out my strengths and weaknesses and to shape my perception of the world. He used those jobs to get me to San Antonio, which is where I learned to hear his voice when I was all alone, met my husband, figured out I love to write, and am now raising my family. I thought it was all about find a job and being a productive member of society, but ultimately it was God’s way of leading to me a home and a purpose.”
My favorite parts of the book are Melanie’s reflections on her past, particularly her childhood. Her retelling of spending time with her grandparents, Big Bob and Nanny, was so similar to my own times with my grandparents. I especially love that she shared the love story of Big Bob and Nanny. For two people I’ve never known, I was completely drawn in with their story, both the absurdity (like how Big Bob drove away because of a pair of pants} and the sweetness {like the pictures Nanny sent him when he was away at war}. Her recounting of fishing with her grandparents rewound my mind all the way back to my own elementary school days, when my grandaddy would be there to pick me up off of the school bus and take me to his pond where my grandmother was waiting. We would fish for the rest of the afternoon, me never touching a worm or a fish, but catching more than enough to outweigh me.
These touching memories mix in perfectly with laugh-til-you-cry stories. If you are a laser hair removal survivor or considering the procedure, Melanie’s experience will definitely be of interest to you. It has ensured I will never on this side of heaven sign up for that treatment. #shavingcreamandarazorforlife
Though she is only a few short years older than me, she is exactly the type of wise woman I want in my life. My older sister is wonderful, but she is almost 12 years older than me. Many of the experiences she had before me, like weddings and child birth and, well, life, were drastically different by the time I was the age to experience those things. The essays Melanie shares are the perfect Southern woman’s pearls of wisdom, as she’s just enough years beyond me that she is relatable. I can imagine I am sitting on her bed as she would state with assurance and gusto: “Never get bangs. You think you want bangs. You think they will be great. But you are not Reese Witherspoon and you don’t have someone styling your hair daily. Trust me, don’t do it.”
All that said, even if you aren’t exactly close in age to Melanie, she’s enough of the “every girl” that you will find yourself in her essays. Whether they’re about teenage angst, the fantastic metabolism of our youth, parenting, marriage, psychotic pets, family or friendship, you’ll find a bit of yourself in her words.
Even though she is sharing from the church of the small things, we all have small things. Small things make up life. You can’t have the big things without the small things. Let’s be about the small things, because “the church of the small things is where God does his best work.”
Get in on the small things now! Melanie’s book doesn’t release until October 3, but you can visit ChurchoftheSmallThings.com to pre-order it now and get lots of fun bonuses!
“When we open ourselves up to the life God has for us, it probably isn’t going to look like what we had planned, and it isn’t always going to feel safe, but it will be infinitely better because it’s life filled with purpose.” – Melanie Shankle
Mia@MiaTheReader says
I have been so encouraged by this book as well! My life can seem so small, but to read this book has reminded me that nothing we do faithfully is wasted. I agree with you, let’s be about the small things! =)