Comfort Food

I love a warm bowl of mac and cheese, baked with leeks and covered in bread crumbs.  It's one of those perfect comfort foods, like a grilled cheese sandwich with at least two kinds of cheese, thin slices of tomatoes, and a hint of Dijon mustard.  Especially when shared with friends, good comfort food warms the heart and puts a smile on my face.  But what about books?  For me, some books are like soul soothing comfort food.  Here's my short list.

[1] The Psalms: When I'm feeling moody, I reach for my Bible and open up the Psalms.  Hearing King David pour his heart out to God regardless of whether he was mad, sad, or joyful, feels liberating to me.  Angry isn't a pretty emotion, but it's ok to let it out when your talking to God.  Besides, He knows what you're feeling anyway, so you may as well be honest with yourself and with your Father.  It's really a comforting thought once you let it sink in.

[2] I Come Quietly to Meet You by Amy Carmichael: Missionary to India and  founder of the Dohnavur Fellowship (a society devoted to saving neglected and ill-treated children) Amy served in India for fifty-six years, writing many books about missionary work.  In 1931, she was badly injured in a fall, which left her bedridden much of the time until her death at the age of 83. She asked that no stone be put over her grave; instead, the children she had cared for put a bird bath over it with the single inscription "Amma", which means mother in the Tamil.  Here's my favorite quote from the book:

          "This evening the clouds hung low on the mountains, so that sometimes we could hardly see the familiar peaks.  Sometimes the stars, too, were nearly all covered.  But always, just when it seemed as though the mountains were going to be quite lost in the mist, the higher peaks pushed out and, whereas the dimmer stars were veiled, the brighter ones shone through. Even supposing the clouds had wholly covered the face of the mountains, and not a star shone through the piled-up masses, the mountains would still have stood steadfast and the stars would not have ceased to shine.  I thought of this and found it very comforting, simple as it was. Our feelings do not affect God's facts.  They may blow up like clouds, and cover the eternal things...We may not see the shinning of the promises -- but they still shine!  And the strength of the hills that is His also is not for one moment less because of our weakness....Feelings come and go, like clouds.  But the 'hills' and the 'stars' abide."

[3] Rich Mullins: An Arrow Pointing to Heaven by James Bryan Smith: Published after his death, this devotional biography tells the story of an amazing man who spent his life sharing the love of Christ with others, and not just through his music.  Brennan Manning reviewed the book (along with writing the forward) by saying this, "...it is the purest echo of the gospel I have read in a long, long time."  I tend to agree with him.

I could keep going and list "The Ragamuffin Gospel" by Brennan Manning and "The Way of the Heart" by Henri Nouwen and most anything by C.S. Lewis.  But I did say this would be a short list. 

What about you?  Which books would you choose when your soul needs a little comfort food?