Book Review

Space for God
Don Postema
© 1985 Spring Arbor

Review by J van Leerdam

This is a book to make your heart sing. How refreshing it is to find a book on spirituality and prayer written not by monks, who we know are skilled at doing so, but by “one of our own” –a Dutch Calvinist !

“Space for God” is an invitation to explore a spirituality that is deeply rooted in the Reformation - a spirituality of gratitude. Don Postema does this in a very personal way, sharing his own insights amongst teachings he has gleaned from a legacy of wisdom. John Calvin, Abraham Kuyper, Thomas Merton, Calvin Seerveld, Madeleine L’Engle and Yushi Nomara are just some of those who rub shoulders with Don, calling us to “make space for God, who made space for us.”

It’s a book full of meaty bits, served on a bed of psalms, poetry and prayer, and garnished with works of art, especially those by Rembrandt and Van Gogh.

I love books you can browse through and dip into without feeling overwhelmed by slabs of print. “Space for God” is such a book. Its setting out is user friendly, with plenty of spaces and pictures.

I’ve always loved Rembrandt’s work, but now I have a new appreciation for Vincent Van Gogh as well. I didn’t know that he was once a minister, preaching God’s word to the poor, something he continued in his letters, drawings and paintings. His drawings of simple peasant folk are evocative indeed. To quote from him “In a picture, I want to say something comforting, as music is comforting. I want to paint men and women with that something of the eternal that the halo used to symbolise.”

Postema begins his book with the story of a woman who was a recluse, never leaving her one small room. When asked why she was just sitting there, she replied “I am not sitting. I am on a journey.” He then invites us on a journey with him, whether we are “sitters” as she was, or busy “wanderers” like I am, to discover that “even hassled and harried people can have a deep spiritual centre, a continuing life of prayer and contemplation and a creative relationship with God.” (Henri Nouwen)

In the middle of my hectic life, I struggle to find “space for God”, so I was heartened to read that “this book is for busy people who also want to be deep people…it is a way of being awake to the world around us and in us, of making space for God.” Don Postema is very down to earth – we are not treated as monks – but to get the best out of this book certainly calls for commitment. He invites us to go on this journey exploring prayer, in small groups of people to whom we can be accountable, and with a willingness to reflect deeply in times of silence and of sharing. He recommends the keeping of a journal to record the journey and our responses.

The book is divided into nine chapters, each with three sections :

• Reflection – Postema’s own thoughts and gathered reflections on the topic,

• Windows to insight – readings, hymns, poems, artworks, etc.

• Exercises – to do in group time, in your journal and at home.

In each chapter I found ample quotes to fill the little “book of quotable quotes” which I keep. The chapters are headed :

Making space, I belong, Gratitude takes nothing for granted, Gestures of gratitude, Prayer as gratitude – the grateful heart, Prayer as Act, Wrestling with God, Prayer and Justice/Compassion, The goal is glory.
Through all the chapters runs the premise that the bottom line in understanding ourselves is that we belong to God. (Lord’s Day 1) God is not only present but with us, deeply involved in our lives. Prayer is knowing God and enjoying him forever. “Faith is our warm embrace of Christ, the Christ who embraces us.”

The many chapters on Gratitude affirm the need for us to live gratefully in response to God’s Grace in our lives. “Wrestling with God” recognises that confronting God is part of the biblical tradition – Jacob, Hannah, Job, Jeremiah… It shows that “we can be so close to God in Christ that we can cling and challenge, surrender and protest, worship and wrestle…and at the end of the struggle the cry of faith becomes a cry of affirmation “Into your hands I commit my spirit.”

You’re probably asking if I have done the “Space for God” course myself. (There is a leader’s guide available.) I wish I could say I have, but until I find a group that’s doing it, I’ve bought myself a new journal and look forward to using “Space For God” to guide me. I know that it will be a “life-giving” book. 

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