read this book!

I just finished reading Godric by Fredrick Buechner. It is quite possibly the most beautiful portrait of the spiritual life that I have ever encountered. The story brought sin and human frailty head to head with the mercy of God and left me facing the darkness of my own soul with new eyes to seek the grace of God in places that I hoped I'd never have to revisit. Usually, the ugly truth about ourselves is stuffed and suppressed and becomes the persistent source of shame that dominates us with the fear that someday, someone will find out who we really are. Godric shows us a man who knows the depths of his own depravity, but through fierce asceticism, finds his shame tested, tried and broken by the raging and tender mercy of God. This might sound like a cheesy book review, but you really need to read this book, it's that good.