Hear Me Out, Sis

Even though God is so very important to me, I don’t often connect with devotionals. I’m drawn to them; I buy them. But then I find the tellings sappy, or it feels like the author is trying too hard to make a point. Hear Me Out, Sis: 31 Real Lessons from a Real One by Margaret Cowan, MSW, is different.

First, Margaret’s voice is so engaging. It’s as if she’s right there, talking with you. Let me tell you, that’s much harder to pull off than it seems. Combine the way Margaret says it with what she has to say, and the book is a delight.

Reading the short devotionals—one and a half pages or so—I was going along, enjoying myself. One entry was funny, another heart-engaging. Always, as the Hear Me Out, Sis title says, it was real. Then Margaret would take a turn, and I slowed down. Soon enough, I found myself pausing and re-reading sentences. I wanted to remember and absorb what Margaret was saying, because I needed to incorporate it into my life. Her points never spill over into the preachy, but neither is Margaret afraid to offer advice.

In “Day 3: This Darn Sink Stopper!” in talking about making do with what has been repaired instead of desiring a new heart, Margaret shares: “I’m being frugal with my heart, y’all.”

In “Day 7: So You Have What It Takes to Grow?” Margaret offers, “Growth, much like the roots of a tree breaking through the earth, is not a gentle process. It requires pressure, persistence, and an unseen strength through the resistance of the earth…The breaking isn’t destructive. It’s creative.”

“Day 16: Can We Talk about Dreams Deferred for a Minute?” in discussing not talking to God about our plans: “Of course, that does not mean the plan goes away. It does, however, ultimately cause a delay or require a rerouting. Often requiring me to take a more rigorous path than initially intended. Think about the Children of Israel. Their story starts in Exodus and ends in Deuteronomy. Kind of. Anyway, these children were always doing something! It’s me. I am the children.”

You can buy Hear Me Out, Sis by going to Margaret’s website. The devotional has a companion journal, if you want to buy that, too. I bought the journal, then was busy at the time I was reading the book, so I didn’t follow along with the journal. But I think I’ll use that as an excuse to re-do the devotional. I never expected such a thing: to want to read a devotional twice!