I’m a bit late getting this review in. I’ve been rather sick and it has set me back on my blogging in general. Hopefully you’ll start to see more from me again! 🙂

Lean On Me is a book about the importance of community and relationship. More specifically though it is a book about one persons journey through pain and brokenness into wholeness and healing, and how integral relationship with others was to her during that time.

This book really called out to my heart. I’ve often longed for more of the vulnerable and committed relationships that she talks about. I have a few such friendships, but not nearly as many as I would like.

This society doesn’t encourage such depth and intimacy in our friendships, it also doesn’t encourage such interdependency and the idea of asking for others for correction. Today we value our independence and our image above all else. The result is a lot of beautiful Facebook streams, and a lot of empty lives.

I loved her perspective on commitment, laid out in chapter seven. The idea that we often submit things in our lives to God, but do not actually commit those things to Him really struck me. The lack of commitment, something that is also very foreign in this society, allows me to continually wrestle over the same ground, over and over, instead of truly being free. To commit is to lose control over the thing you have given commitment for. To, as her friend said, “send a pledge of faith into the future.”

There were many of these principles and ideas that shown out as she shared her personal story, principles of grief, of redemption, and principles that show that for all of those things, relationship is essential. We were not meant to walk this life alone.

I really believe the principles laid out here, tenderly displayed through one persons pain, are crucial to everyone. Yes the church encourages community, but for vibrant community to actually take place people need to know that they actually have to engage in that community.

This book will leave you analyzing your own life and relationships and asking:

Am I vulnerable? Am I committed?

Joy Aletheia Stevens

Disclaimers: I received this book for free to review from Book Look Bloggers all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links, for more on affiliate links and other policies see my policy page.