Tattered and Mended by Cynthia Ruchti

We get frayed around the edges. Sometimes we get torn. There are times when we have a hole ripped in our soul.

Just like tattered and torn cloth can be mended, God can mend our frayed and tattered souls. Just like holes in a sock can be darned, God can fill that hole in our soul.

Ruchti has combined the art of repairing cloth, the gift of finding use for the apparently unusable, and the skill of repairing items like stained glass, with stories from her own experience, from others, and from the Bible to give us an encouraging book to read during difficult times.

Ruchti draws spiritual lessons from mending skills. She writes about weaving threads, restoring designs to the original appearance or to a new but beautiful look. She writes of adding new threads and of sometimes leaving old ones. She tells of artists who take old material, like copper plates, and make new and beautiful uses of them. Each repair skill is combined with a story of a shattered soul. Her own stories include that of her husband losing his job, the second time just a year before retirement. She shares her own long battle with Lyme disease. She includes biblical stories too.

I like the lessons she draws from the repair techniques. For example, she writes about what happens when shortcuts are taken as delicate repair takes time. Another lesson is when we try a false technique and do not use an authentic restorer. She clearly reveals that we must turn to God to repair our shattered souls as anything else will result in disaster. Ruchti also identified some of the tools God uses in restoration, such as others, worship, music and Scripture.

While her essays on mending are good, the strength of this book is in the great section at the end of the book. It is fulled with suggestions for the tattered soul, ideas to help provide the environment for mending and healing. She includes suggested actions, Scriptures to read and memorize, and even some practical ideas like eating right and getting enough sleep.

This is a good book for those who need encouragement during a difficult time. It would be a real plus if the intended reader appreciated some form of needle work or quilting or a type of material restoration.

I am taking part in a blog tour of this book and you can read other reviews here.

Cynthia Ruchti has more than three decades of radio broadcast experience with Heartbeat of the Home radio and currently serves as Professional Relations Liaison for American Christian Fiction Writers. She is the award-winning author of sixteen books. She and her husband live in Central Wisconsin. You can find out more at http://www.cynthiaruchti.com/.

Abingdon Press, 208 pages. You can purchase a copy here.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book through Litfuse for the purpose of an independent and honest review.