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Stone Crossings: Finding Grace in Hard and Hidden Places

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L. L. Barkat is a revelation. She possesses an eye for striking detail and a refreshing honesty that draws you in. In "Stone Crossings," she shares a journey marked by early pain and abuse, but one ultimately redeemed by the discovery of irresistible grace.

She is a poet whose words both shock and heal. She is a teacher whose grasp of the Scriptures and personal acquaintance with God's love make her story resonate. At 176 pages, "Stone Crossings" is a fairly quick read; yet it's one that will prompt readers to pause often for long moments of reflection and to savor Barkat's poetic gift.

For anyone who has felt the hurt and rejection of a troubled upbringing, for anyone who now lives with the enduring shame and guilt of abuse, for anyone who longs for healing, Barkat's story is for you. This is a deep and transforming book that manages to be literary, therapeutic, and theological all at the same time.

Stone Crossings shimmers with grace: experienced, reflected, and expressed. Writing with great self-awareness (but without self-absorbtion), L. L. Barkat confronts pain and evil with truth-telling and grace-extending realism and hope. She weaves life's threads -- abandonment and abuse, poetry and panic, family and fear -- into a tapestry shaped by faith (without losing the texture of reality.)

Most books of this type fail either (a) because they sugar coat reality or (b) because they gloss over Scripture's ambiguities and tensions. L. L. Barkat engages life and Scripture with fearless (and sometimes fearsome) honesty.

If you enjoyed L'Engle's Crosswicks Journals, Lamott's Travelling Mercies, or Robert Benson's Living Prayer, you'll enjoy this book.

If L.L. Barkat wrote fiction, surely a Pulitzer would be awarded. Not only will you find Grace abounding in these pages, connecting her/our hard memories to larger spiritual truths, but you'll find writing that soars far above anything you've read lately, maybe ever. A very excellent read.

It's easy to think of L.L. Barkat's "Stone Crossings: Finding Grace in Hard and Hidden Places" as an autobiography. Like all writing, it is that, but it's also more, much more: memoir, devotional, hymn of praise, song of redemption, conversation with God. And it's in invitation to join her on a journey.

Barkat uses the metaphors of stone and rock to develop the themes of her life - conversion, doubt, shame, inclusion, witness, justice, love, gratitude and completion (there are more). Each "stone" begins with the personal and moves to the spiritual, and in that moment of transition comes a recognition for the reader that we're not just reading Barkat's story but our own. Her story becomes our story.

The writing is fine, remarkably fine. The way she tells the story of the Christmas lump of coal had tears running down my cheeks. Or how her grandmother forgets she made apple cakes. Or how the author herself, determined not to fall in love and not believing it falling in love, does so anyway in spite of herself.

I'm glad I walked this journey called "Stone Crossings."

Everyone needs something to hold on to, in order to brace themselves against the oncoming storm that is life. "Stone Crossings: Finding Grace in Hard and Hidden Places" is L.L. Barkat's reflections on her journey through this terrible storm, finding her comfort in the words of other writers, stories of the people alongside her, and in God. A charming and inspirational story all the way through, "Stone Crossings: Finding Grace in Hard and Hidden Places" is a top pick for community library memoir collections and for anyone who also needs something to hold on to.

I consider it a privilege when I finish a book like Stone Crossings. L.L. Barkat's stark, evocative prose wormed its way into my heart, and her unflinching honesty caused me to consider life more deeply, to run to the God who made it all. I love her story throughout the book, how it restrains to tell the truth, yet holds her privacy. I love how she wrestles. And I love how God finds her.

I first found LL in the comments section of Mark Galli's blog and followed her over to Seedlings in Stone. Right away I was hooked. LL can find Jesus in not only the "Hard and Hidden Places" but in every day life, green inventions, and in the yard. When I found out about the release of Stone Crossings, I ordered it as soon as possible. I stayed up late reading the first two-thirds of the book the day it arrived. I love the way the book flows, how LL intertwines her personal story with God's truth, that she doesn't provide easy answers but always points us back to grace. Highly recommend.

Does anything indicate the quality of a book as much as how it reads the second time through? I enjoyed "Stone Crossings--Finding grace in Hard and Hidden Places" by L. L. Barkat the first time--even when tired and not doing it justice. But in August, relaxed and ready to meditate, I decided I'd look at it again. This time I knew the story so I could savor nuances, and they were tasty.

Barkat draws upon outside sources--secular writings, spiritual writings, children's books, and current events. She shares how key people displayed the life of Christ for her: a step-mother who shared the gospel and love; un-named church members who prayed over her, her mother, and her sister when they desperately needed protection; a college counselor who cared and didn't judge; and a boyfriend who didn't abandon her.

Not all significant people in her life were positive. Her honesty and integrity come through when she acknowledges she doesn't know if she's completely forgiven all sins against her--God hasn't required it at this point. But she also shares how forgiving brings freedom. And how, as she found freedom herself, she has been able to share freedom with others.

Ultimately, however, Barkat shines when she turns to Scripture. Her interpretation of Jonah--she identifies both his fear and anger--provoked soul-searching on my part. She confesses she thought God judged Moses harshly. Then she understood God cared more about Moses' heart than his ministry of power. Insights on King Saul, Israel, the Tabernacle, Solomon, Daniel, Paul, and Jesus all illustrate powerful truth. Especially Jesus. Her amplified story of the blind man with mud in his eyes stumbling on his way to the Pool of Siloam set me laughing--while illustrating how I often stumble around when Jesus meets my need.