18 October 2016

Review: Made Well by Jenny Simmons

Jenny Simmons is apparently most famous as the lead singer in Christian contemporary music band Addison Road, and singer of the song Hope Now. At the risk of stereotyping myself, I’d never heard of the band or the song before I picked up this book.



Okay, I see the appeal.

But that’s not what Made Well is about. Made Well is challenging our views on healing, pointing out that healing is often a process rather than an act, and that it can come in many forms. It’s not one of those self-help books promising health or wealth or happiness if you follow the author’s formula. Rather, it’s an exploration of the healing journey. She quotes Becca Stevens as saying:
My healing journey has taken thousands of prayers, countless small bits of bread, and gallons of wine one sip at a time.
And Simmons says:
Some of the world’s greatest miracles happen because doctors and nurses show up and do their jobs well.

She doesn’t discount the possibility of instantaneous miraculous healing, although she says she hasn’t experienced it for herself. That may be true, but I’d say that she’s been used in the miraculous healing of others, and she’s learned many things about healing that those who are intent on seeking the instant will miss out on:

Perhaps in our zealous quests to live long and prosper, we have confused Jesus’ invitation to be made well with our own desire for fully cured bodies [and minds?], and in doing so, we have altogether missed a deeper knowing of what it means to be healed by the Savior.
It’s a valid point: Jesus said to seek him, to seek the Kingdom of God. Not to seek healing. Do we make healing into an idol?
Healing is a prolonged process, not an instant, magical fix. It’s a book with many chapters. The road towards wholeness is long and winding.
One review I read of Made Well recommended it to fans of Ann Voskamp. That may well fit, but I personally didn’t get in to Ann Voskamp’s style. But I still found Made Well to be well worth reading - thought provoking, and written from the heart. Recommended.

Thanks to Baker Books and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

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