Ms. DeMuth’s memoir is less about her and more about leading the reader to recognize the thin places in life.

Even though I decided that this was not the typical Christian memoir, I still wondered if anything in her story of an abused and neglected child would have meaning for me. Was there anything that I could touch? Yep, there sure was.

In Celtic tradition, a thin place is where the veil that separates heaven and earth is lifted and one is able to receive a glimpse of the glory of God. Each of us has those thin places in our lives; we need to learn to recognize them. DeMuth, in telling her story, helps us to look for the times in our own lives where heaven has been inches away but we didn’t see. The times when we are so close to the throne of God we can almost touch him.

As I continued reading, since I had gotten to the place where I couldn’t put this book down, I began to see my own thin places. I realized I could relate to DeMuth’s awful, dysfunctional family she grew up in. I didn’t grow up in the horrid conditions that DeMuth did, but there were dysfunctions nonetheless. And God’s face was shining through to me then, and now.

Ms. DeMuth has a way with words that I haven’t seen in recent years. Her descriptions are not only unique, they evoke the emotion of the moment. She writes, “Growing up, I find myself in a scrawny sort-of body—legs thin as broomsticks interrupted by knees so knobby they bang into each other as I walk.” I not only see this scrawny little girl, I feel her humiliation that her upbringing has given her.

Unlike other Christian memoirs, DeMuth doesn’t end with “I met Jesus and my life is wonderful now.” In fact, throughout her tale she confesses her continued struggles, the same struggles that many of us live through. She doesn’t offer any quick answers to the dilemmas of life. DeMuth, however, points the reader to the thin place to look for the moment at heaven peeking through. It is those moments that are a starting place for healing.

Don’t expect a gory retelling of an abused child. Don’t expect a fairy-tale, all-is-right-in-the-world ending. Expect to see your own thin places, and be moved by them.

I recommend this story to everyone, because everyone has a moment they can relate to in DeMuth’s story. I recommend not just reading it, but also feeling. Go back to your moment, and live the thin place in your life.

Thin Places: A Memoir
Mary DeMuth
Zondervan
ISBN: 978-0310284185
Paperback
Kindle

If you sincerely desire to follow Jesus Christ, life won’t always be easy. Many times the Bible promises victory, and you may need to remind yourself that there can be no victory without struggling and overcoming obstacles.

In my book, I used the image of God turning out the lights because that was how I perceived the situation. I felt as if I walked in darkness for 18 months. We all interact differently with God, and my experience won’t be the same as yours. Even so, most serious Christians have times when God seems to turn away or stops listening. And we feel alone.

Perhaps it’s like the time the Israelites cried out to God for many years because of the Egyptian oppression. “God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise…and knew it was time to act” (Exodus 2:24 NLT). God hadn’t forgotten, of course, but from their perspective, that’s how it must have seemed. It may seem like that to you if you’re going through your own form of darkness.

Here are a few suggestions to help you:

1. Ask God this simple question: “Have I knocked out the lights by my failures? Have I sinned against you? After you ask the question, listen. Give God the opportunity to speak to you.

2. Don’t see this as divine punishment (unless God shows you it is), but consider the silence an act of divine love to move you forward. This is God’s method to teach you and stretch you.

3. Avoid asking why. You don’t need reasons and explanations–and you probably won’t get them anyway. Instead, remind yourself that this temporary darkness is to prepare you for greater light.

4. Say as little as possible to your friends. Most friends will want to “fix” you or heal you and they can’t. They may offer advice (often not helpful) or make you feel worse (“Are you sure everything is right between you and God?”).

5. Stay with the “means of grace.” That is, don’t neglect worship with other believers even if you feel empty. Read your Bible even if you can’t find anything meaningful.

I chose to read Lamentations and Psalms (several times, especially Lamentations) because they expressed some of the pain and despair I felt.

6. If you don’t have a daily prayer time, start one. Perhaps something as short as three minutes–and do it daily. Talk honestly to God. It’s all right to get angry. (Read the Psalms if you’re hesitant.)

7. Remind yourself, “I am in God’s hands. This is where I belong and I’ll stay in the blackout until I’m ready to move forward.”

8. Pray these words daily: “But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults” (Psalm 19:12 TNIV). Some versions say “secret sins.” These are failures and sins of which you may not yet be aware. One of the purposes of your darkness may be to bring those hidden problems to light.

9. Ask God, “What do you want me to learn from this experience?” You may not get an answer, but it’s still a good question. Continue to ask–even after the lights go back on again. If you’re open, you will learn more about yourself and also about God.

10. As you receive “light” about yourself while walking in darkness, remind yourself, God has always known and still loves me.


When God Turned Off the Lights: True Stories of Seeking God in the Darkness
When God Turned Off the Lights
by Cecil Murphey

Is it possible that God would use a time of spiritual loneliness and isolation in our life as an answer to our prayer for “something more?” That’s what happened with best-selling author Cecil Murphey. In When God Turned Off the Lights (Regal, September 2009), he openly shares from his journey that seemed to be stalled in darkness.

Murphey decided to write about his months of seeking God in the darkness because he suspected his situation wasn’t unique. “If this happened to me, a rather ordinary believer, surely there are others out there who have wept in the isolated blackness of night and wondered if they would ever see God’s smile again.”

Murphey could have handled this topic as a theologian and given pages of heavy, hard-to-read advice, but he chose to write from his heart and expose it for the readers to see. He talks honestly and shares his skepticism and frustration. He asks hard questions. And he lays out the steps of healing that brought him back to the light.

When God Turned Off the Lights is a book for those of us who ask, “What’s wrong with me? Why are others living in the sunlight while nothing but dark clouds and darkness envelop me?” Readers will learn:

• Why God turns off the lights
• Why we have to have dark nights
• Why asking “why” isn’t the right question
• What’s worse than going through the darkness
• How to feel worthwhile and accepted by God

About Cec Murphey

Award-winning writer Cecil Murphey is the author or co-author of more than 100 books, including the “New York Times” bestseller 90 Minutes in Heaven (with Don Piper) and Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story (with Dr. Ben Carson). He’s also the author of When Someone You Love Has Cancer and Christmas Miracles, both 2009 releases. Murphey’s books have sold millions and have brought hope and encouragement to countless people around the world.