Sacred Refuge: Finding Unexpected Shelter in Your Crisis

Rienstra (regional director, Samaritan’s Purse) is a pastor’s wife who’s devoted her life to helping women (she calls them “sisters” in this book) who are seeking respite from their pasts or current difficulties. In particular, she wants this book to reach not only people who do not regularly attend church but also readers she calls “dones”: faithful, stalwart volunteers who have quit their church due to burnout, petty squabbles, or a lack of institutional support. Using women from the Bible as examples, the book takes readers into an imaginative world where the voices of biblical figures seeking healing and relationship are amplified in ways intended to speak to seekers today. Each chapter discusses an element of refuge, such as finding and abiding, supplemented by spiritual prompts for individuals or groups. Rienstra makes a few theological arguments that might disturb and alarm readers; for example, she asserts that God actively chooses not to heal certain people. Each chapter ends with reflection questions. There’s also an appendix that provides further discussion prompts for group activities.