There are nature lovers who see some shade of beauty in every created thing, and others who cannot appreciate the finer points of God's creation. Even those in the latter category may be transformed by the poetic grace with which Crosby tells of Willoway Brook, a beloved park near her home where she walks and prays. Crosby (Waiting for Morning: Hearing God's Voice in the Darkness) confesses that her public prayers are haltingly ineffectual, but her written words flow with a transfixing liquidity as she tenderly describes the beauty, power and majesty she discovers while "prayer journeying" near her home in Illinois. Through her words, Crosby spellbindingly embraces all the elements found in the outdoor prairie world, painting for her readers everything she sees. Through 14 essays that skillfully blend the untamable world of flowers, fauna, wind and weather with prayer disciplines, Crosby intersperses lessons she's gleaned while playing both silent observer and active participant. Readers will delight in passages about the basics of prayerful communion with God: the essentialness of waiting in silence for God's coming; being open to change despite the discomfort it ushers in; learning to discipline oneself to enter into community; and recognizing that pain is the truest form of soul cleansing. Crosby's clear adoration for nature is contagious, and sure to inspire devoted readers across denominational lines. (Mar.)
