Navigating the Narrow Path to Life: Daily Reflections from a Fellow Traveler

A journal of spiritual reflections meant to inspire others to dedicate their lives to God.

For each day of the year, Noble’s spiritual guidebook offers short entries about different aspects of faith and God. For example, one entry discusses the Transfiguration (when God speaks to Moses and his disciples through a cloud). The interpretation encourages people to go directly to God with their troubles in order to build a strong relationship with him. Other entries focus more on Noble’s own spirituality. In one instance, she shares her struggle about the joy she felt when she found out her ex-husband cheated on the woman who had been his mistress during their marriage. Unsurprisingly, some entries resonate more strongly than others. In a May entry, Noble outlines her belief that, by his hanging on the cross, Christ blessed the wood itself. But how readers apply that to their own lives isn’t very clear. Entries about End Times and her stance against gay marriage will be off-putting to some. At times, the structure of short entries works against the book’s purpose. Instead of concentrating and fleshing out her ideas, the author briefly mentions them and then moves onto the next. At one point, she describes how she wants to model her approach to ministering on Melchizedek, a priest appearing in the Bible; e.g., she would “pop onto the scene, deliver a blessing and drop back out.” And while that might work in other contexts, in book form, the short entries create a fast pace where one day’s insight slides into the next. The book would probably best be read as it was written: one entry per day. Otherwise, an entire year’s worth of religious insight is overwhelming. Still, Noble sets forth a good framework for one who wants to live a more godly life, and she characterizes her views clearly: It’s not enough to just go through the motions; one must actively practice one’s faith through attending church, praying throughout the day and developing a strong relationship with Jesus.

A book full of daily mediations on faith and religion suffers from its journal-esque structure.