It’s always a treat to have the opportunity to get to know an author a little better before I sit down to open up his or her book. Today, I’m excited to interview my dear friend, Ruth Chou Simons, about her new book, Now and Not Yet: Pressing in When You’re Waiting, Wanting, and Restless for More. Ruth wrote this book to point anyone experiencing a season of restlessness or discouragement toward biblical truth. She includes guided liturgies alongside her beautiful artwork to encourage readers and help them “flip the script” on hard seasons. You can order Now and Not Yet here
Can you give us a quick update on you and your family? What has this season of life been like for you?
Our family is in a time of transition! Our oldest is living many states away for graduate school, our second is away at college, and our third is graduating high school this year. In just a matter of a few years, we’ve gone from six boys to only three at home. It’s a rarity for all eight of us to be home or on a trip altogether these days, so we are treasuring every opportunity we get to be a family.
What led you to write Now and Not Yet? What do you hope readers will take away from this book?
I wrote Now and Not Yet to help readers persevere in faithfulness right where they are, when they are not yet where they want to be. I long for readers to see God’s faithfulness on display in the midst of our not-yet-wonderful circumstances. The Christian life is one lived in the tension of the now and not yet, so I pray readers will become not only aware of God’s purposes in their waiting and not-yet seasons, but also of his sanctifying work in our lives as we persevere this side of heaven, and in so doing, live faithfully, with courage and hope.
What advice would you give to someone who is feeling restless or enduring a season of waiting?
I’d encourage them to let the restlessness in waiting drive them to a greater dependence on the Lord. I’d also encourage them to not think of waiting as passive but to start where they are and use what they already have when seeking a change of circumstances.
How has reflecting on the idea of true rest changed your own thinking or habits?
My restlessness most often coincides with forgetfulness about where true rest comes from, so I find that I must correct my habitual amnesia by regularly rehearsing the truths of God’s character and attributes, and what he says about who I am in Christ. When I remember these truths, I realign my thoughts once again with where my true rest lies, and why I can stop working and striving so hard to attain it by my own means.
I must correct my habitual amnesia by regularly rehearsing the truths of God’s character and attributes, and what he says about who I am in Christ.
In the book, you talk about how “you don’t have to be blooming to be growing?” Can you tell us a little about what you mean by that?
We so often measure growth by the blooms we see in others, and can grow discouraged when we don’t see the vibrant blooms in the proverbial garden of our lives. But, just as bulbs grow roots in the winter, long before they surface as blooms, we too have seasons of growth that may not look like vibrant blooms or fruit. Don’t give up, and don’t be discouraged; focus instead on growing.
Can you share a few of your favorite quotes from the book?
“Restlessness is not a puzzle for us to solve on our own; it’s an invitation from God to find answers in him, to press in and discover who he is and why we can rest in him.”
“Hidden doesn’t mean forgotten.”
“God is purposeful about what happens between today and tomorrow, between right now and someday.”
What is something surprising that people might not know about you?
That I’m self-taught in watercolors and never imagined God would use the medium to develop a business and my public ministry.
Ruth Chou Simons is a Wall Street Journal bestselling and award-winning author of several books and Bible studies, including Beholding and Becoming, When Strivings Cease, and Pilgrim. She is an artist, entrepreneur, podcaster, and speaker, using each of these platforms to spiritually sow the Word of God into people’s hearts. Through social media and her online shoppe at GraceLaced.com, Simons shares her journey of God’s grace intersecting daily life with word and art. Ruth and her husband, Troy, are grateful parents to six boys—their greatest adventure.
