The Cultivating Reader – Literary Leaf-Mould provides a fresh source of recommended books gathered from classic and contemporary authors. I introduce you to varied genres through the ages—classic literature, poetry, essays, and inspiring non-fiction. And you may find just the right choice for a book club gathering or luncheon because breaking bread together over a good read builds community! My prayer is for you to set aside time alone or with friends and linger over good words!
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”— Proverbs 3.5-6
It is springtime, and in this academic season, thoughts turn to the future for every high school student. With their toes metaphorically curled over the edge of the canyon of adulthood, most of my students are feeling a bit of panic, which is compounded by adults who regularly query, “What college/job/location are you thinking about?”
I teach online courses for grades nine through twelve, so I am blessed with a front row seat to candid conversations during class. A short while ago, a student excitedly shared that she had just been accepted to the college she was hoping to attend. She described the details of her degree program and the college. There was a round of congratulations and cheerful support, followed by a deep sigh from another student. With chin in hand and a somber tone, she looked at her classmates via the Zoom screen and admitted, “I have no idea what I’m going to do. I haven’t even taken the SAT or the ACT tests yet and I graduate soon.”
As an adult, I can look back on my life and reflect on God’s purposeful plan (and at times strong course correction). Looking back is easy because I can see His shepherding hand at work. But for a present day teenager surrounded by social media, influencers, countless options, and shrill voices, the path ahead looks murky!
I smiled at my dear students and acknowledged their apprehensions. “Yeah, this is a tough time of life for teens.” I sighed. “But I assure you, there is a plan for every one of you. It might be something that you could never dream of right now. And it won’t be easy, but it will be amazing and so much better than you can imagine.”
All of our kids were homeschooled. I told my class about my eldest child, whose heart’s desire was to be a writer. We told her that God had clearly given her the gift of writing and He would never waste that gift. She graduated with a degree in creative writing. People scoffed at her and said she would never get a job; she needed to earn a “worthwhile” degree in business or technology. Guess who was the first of her peers to secure a great job in her degree program? The creative writing major.
Our middle child’s journey through college was fraught with challenges, but the day she set foot on an unexpected campus for a degree that was not part of her original plan, she said, “This feels like home!” She’s months away from earning her master’s degree at that school. Our youngest was a Covid lockdown kid who never took a placement test because there wasn’t one available; then we moved to another state six months before he graduated from high school. But God went before us with a plan that only He could orchestrate. Within a month of graduating from high school (his ceremony was at Disney’s Star Wars park and he wore a Jedi robe), he was accepted to a wonderful college and received much-needed scholarships.
Did we experience fear of the unknown? Yes. Absolutely. But we discovered that prayer and trust was our anchor in a tumultuous future. In our storms, Jesus whispers, “Hush, be still” (Mark 4.39). The wind dies down; calm is restored. Keep praying.
The following books for readers of all ages embody the message of trusting God with your future. When your future looks murky, breathe deep, take heart, and trust the One who spoke the universe into existence and knew you from the beginning of time. God’s got you.
- See trust in the good purpose of the journey in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Just as my high school students are experiencing, we cannot always clearly see what lies ahead. We just know—like Frodo, Sam, and the Fellowship—that we must trust in the work that lays before us. Just keep moving forward.
- Trust between war comrades is found in Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest by Stephen Ambrose.
The men of Easy Company symbolized the best of a brotherhood forged in battle. This collection of personal accounts from the WWII soldiers in Easy Company provides you with a true example of trust and sacrifice in the face of every extreme. The men of E Company parachuted into France on D-Day, captured Hitler’s Eagles’s Nest, and remained closer than blood for the rest of their lives. They were living testimonies that “there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18.24).
- Trust God even when it hurts, as Eustace did in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis.
C.S. Lewis had a gift for simple insights into the Christian story. Eustace Clarence Scrubb is the ill-behaved companion who accompanies Edmund, Lucy, and Caspian on the ship Dawn Treader. During the voyage, Eustace’s greed leads him to disaster that only Aslan can heal, but healing is a painful and scary process. Can he trust Aslan with his life?
- Discover who can be trusted in Regency-era romance and relationships in Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.
Jane Austen’s first novel, published in 1811, perfectly portrays nineteenth century British life with its challenges of status, marriages, and fortunes. Lighthearted and endearing, written with Austen’s signature wit, Sense and Sensibility reveals how the rocky road to faithful love is wrought through knowing whom to trust!
- To help children understand that God has a plan for them, read The Oak Inside the Acorn by Max Lucado.
This sweet story’s theme is about trusting God to help you become “the tree God made you to be.”[1] Waiting and trusting that God will reveal the special purposes in each of our lives isn’t just for a moment, it is a lifelong practice. I think this picture book would be a wonderful graduation gift!
- A true medieval tale of simple faith and trust can be found in the children’s book Caedmon’s Song by Ruth Ashby.
This seventh-century story was first recorded by the Venerable Bede in his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, completed in 731–732 AD. Illiterate and humble, Caedmon was a quiet cowherd who tended the cattle that lived in the monastery. One night, he dreamed of poetic holy words that could only be inspired by God. The Lord’s plan for Caedmon will surprise and bless you!
Trusting in God is difficult at times. The human condition fears the unknown and oftentimes our first response is panic and doubt. Luke’s gospel reminds us “Do not fear” (Luke 12.7). Be assured that God’s plan for your life will not be thwarted.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.”— Isaiah 55.8-9
All scripture is taken from the NASB.
[1] Max Lucado, The Oak Inside the Acorn, Tommy Nelson Publishing.
The featured image, “Let There Be Light,” is courtesy of Julie Jablonski and is used with her kind permission for Cultivating.
Annie Nardone is a lifelong bibliophile with a special devotion to the Inklings and medieval authors. She is a Fellow with the C.S. Lewis Institute and holds an M.A. in Cultural Apologetics from Houston Christian University. Annie is the Director of Visual Artists for The Cultivating Project and columnist for Cultivating Magazine. She is founding board member, managing editor, and author for the apologetics quarterly, An Unexpected Journal. Her writing can also be found as travel blogger for Clarendon Press U.K., with published poems at Calla Press and Poetica.
She holds a MA in Cultural Apologetics from Houston Christian University, and is a Fellow with the C.S. Lewis Institute. Annie writes for Cultivating, Literary Life, and Clarendon House Books, and is a managing editor and writer for An Unexpected Journal. Annie collaborated on three books in 2022, published by Square Halo Books and The Rabbit Room. She recently designed a curriculum detailing the intersection of theology, the arts, and history and is a Master Teacher for HSLDA. She resides in Florida with her Middle Earth/Narnia/Hogwarts-loving family, and an assemblage of sphynx cats and feline foundlings.
I love “Band of Brothers”! It made me smile to see it included in this list. I often tell people when I recommend it that it’s so well-written and exciting, it feels like you’re reading a novel and not a history book.