Scan barcode
A review by finalefile
Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality by Wesley Hill
5.0
I wanted to read this book because I've been reading a lot about Christian perspectives on LGBTQ+ people the past few years. I thought this would be yet another memoir that throws in some Bible verses here and there, though unlike most of what I've read, this book is anti-homosexual relationships. (I still don't know where I should stand regarding this issue; I'm glad I'm not gay myself, so that I don't actually have to make up my mind on this one way or the other anytime soon.)
But this book was SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT. It's not just a memoir about struggles with one's sexuality. It's a deep, vulnerable look at the author's religious beliefs, his temptations, and his experiences. Unexpectedly, I saw myself in much of this book. Though I don't experience Hill's sexual temptations, I felt that almost everything he wrote was true of me, too. Both he and I are non-heterosexual Christians (he is gay and I am asexual) who have felt for much of our lives that we are somehow on the outside looking in. Heterosexual Christians can seem to have it so easy. Hill writes in heartwrenching detail about the loneliness he struggles with, a loneliness that I have also felt quite strongly for years now. I particularly felt his pain when he describes his fear of eventually losing all of his friends due to them getting married or moving away. I feel so much less alone in my sorrows and fears now that I've read this book.
Washed and Waiting contains a deep, authentic, and heartfelt exploration of theological concepts that both Hill and I may continue to struggle with for a long time. What is the correct balance between "enjoying life to the fullest" and "bearing in our body the sufferings of Christ"? How is God present in our struggles? Should we see ourselves as the lowliest of the low due to our sinful nature, or rejoice in how much God cares about us? Will our faithful obedience to God be worth it in the end?
I've been waiting to read a book like this for a long while. It's so refreshing to read a Christian memoir that doesn't end with some variation of "I had some tough times but now I'm married and have kids and life is pretty awesome!" Washed and Waiting doesn't try to tie up all the loose ends. Hill knows that there are "thorns in the flesh" that we may perpetually suffer from. But he shows us that through Jesus, somehow we will be okay.
But this book was SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT. It's not just a memoir about struggles with one's sexuality. It's a deep, vulnerable look at the author's religious beliefs, his temptations, and his experiences. Unexpectedly, I saw myself in much of this book. Though I don't experience Hill's sexual temptations, I felt that almost everything he wrote was true of me, too. Both he and I are non-heterosexual Christians (he is gay and I am asexual) who have felt for much of our lives that we are somehow on the outside looking in. Heterosexual Christians can seem to have it so easy. Hill writes in heartwrenching detail about the loneliness he struggles with, a loneliness that I have also felt quite strongly for years now. I particularly felt his pain when he describes his fear of eventually losing all of his friends due to them getting married or moving away. I feel so much less alone in my sorrows and fears now that I've read this book.
Washed and Waiting contains a deep, authentic, and heartfelt exploration of theological concepts that both Hill and I may continue to struggle with for a long time. What is the correct balance between "enjoying life to the fullest" and "bearing in our body the sufferings of Christ"? How is God present in our struggles? Should we see ourselves as the lowliest of the low due to our sinful nature, or rejoice in how much God cares about us? Will our faithful obedience to God be worth it in the end?
I've been waiting to read a book like this for a long while. It's so refreshing to read a Christian memoir that doesn't end with some variation of "I had some tough times but now I'm married and have kids and life is pretty awesome!" Washed and Waiting doesn't try to tie up all the loose ends. Hill knows that there are "thorns in the flesh" that we may perpetually suffer from. But he shows us that through Jesus, somehow we will be okay.