Book Review: Susie and Divine Contentment

Susie: The Life and Legacy of Susannah Spurgeon, wife of Charles H. Spurgeon

by Ray Rhodes Jr.

This book was a roller coaster of conviction.

I found myself nauseated by the constant drumbeat of the Spurgeons’ wedded bliss when my marriage has faced hard and rocky times. I struggled with the sense of “fakeness” that their home was a “paradise” as if they never sinned. As if Susie always loved her husband perfectly – well who wouldn’t love such an indulgent husband, my cynical heart pouted.

But stepping back I saw that all my posturing was the sharp sting of conviction. What if the “perfection” wasn’t perfection but an unwillingness to give sin an inch? Yes, it can be discouraging to feel all you do is sin and this perfect woman never even spoke sharply or disrespectfully. But maybe, maybe we’re too quick to air our sins to comfort readers. Maybe we need to turn from looking at all our sins and look at Christ. Maybe, like a soldier on the front line overcome by fear no longer listens to his Captain, we’re so focused on our fight against sin that all we see is sin. We can’t hear our Captain. Sin is winning by being our focus. It’s like a twisted narcissism or self-flagellation.

Side Note: This isn’t a call to stop repenting, but to fill our sight with Christ and not our sin.

I was encouraged that maybe my field of view needed more of Christ.

This book talked of their great love and how faithfully and tenderly the Spurgeons looked after each other even when separated. At first I scoffed. No woman enjoys dealing with “man flu.” That sharp sting of conviction? How easy is it in this culture and even as a happy homemaker to forget that we wives are to be loving our husbands with our work? That our homes are to be loving, tender places of delighting in caring for him and following his lead? Ouch!

I felt I had slipped here and this dear woman reminded me that home most often flows from the love and friendship between man and wife. There are thousands of unique ways this love is expressed, but it’s still love. It’s so easy to lose sight of our husbands, to stop tending home for them, faithfully and prudently, out of love first to Christ and then to the man He chose for us. It’s very easy to focus on taking care of our homes for ourselves and to view the people who live here and who visit as in the way of our homemaking instead of homemaking for their sakes.

On top of all this, this book is an excellent example of a woman using her widowhood to serve the church and a husband wisely giving her some help with that before his death. Even confined to her home, Susie’s heart focused on the church and she did all she could for its support. As a pastor’s wife, reading this book was like finding an older sister lighting my way. I was so encouraged by Susie’s love of the church.

A couple caveats:

-The writing is repetitive. I wish it had simply used more of Susie’s writing and not repeated things so much.

-You must keep in mind that they agreed as a couple to view their marriage as secondary to Charles’ Ministry. Not all women are gifted to so support their husbands by being a constant church-widow or raising their children often alone.

- There’s this weird thing about her removing herself from the Sunday evening services to “administer the Word of Life” to her family. I have no idea what that means or what was happening but I hesitate to ever recommend absenting one’s self from any church service outside of providential hindrances.

I read this book and was so convicted, but I was also greatly encouraged. I was encouraged as a wife, as a pastor’s wife, and as someone who struggles with the limitations set by her health. This book is a perfect illustration of “well-behaved women seldom make history.”

The Art of Divine Contentment

by Thomas Watson

I’m now going to say what everyone who has read this book says: run, don’t walk. Read this book. Move it to the top of the pile! Stop all other books and read this book!

First, and least important, the sheer literary enjoyment of reading this book makes it a must. Watson has a gift with words and a way of putting them together that is memorable, enlightening, delighting, convicting, and encouraging. He makes this treatise a satisfying read and there are a plethora of quotes to share and memorize.

Second, and more important, is that contentment is not an honored virtue in our culture, but it is commanded by our God who loves us. Thus, it is for our good. This book provides instruction about what contentment is and isn’t, encouragement to engage in the work, and warnings of the disasters of discontentment. There are some passages where this “surgeon” cuts deep with his scalpel to get out our gangrene flesh. But he always replaces dead flesh with help and hope, not leaving a gaping wound.

Third, Watson reminds us of our great need for the gospel and the need for our unsaved children to find salvation in Christ. This pushes us to repentance from our wayward hearts and to pray for the unsaved.

Being a homemaker and living quiet lives of contentment is not ‘cool’ these days. This book drives you to accept what the Lord has laid out for your home, husband, family, church, life, and circumstance. I can’t recommend enough, ladies, how much sound theology and practice will affect your home life. This book will help you be more like Christ, dig at those deeply rooted sins, and from that, to tend hearth and home calmly, lovingly, and joyfully.

Watson reminds us that our great Brother, Captain, King has called us not to be part of this world even while we live in it. I don’t think I ever considered all the ways I’m discontent until I read this book. I already need to read it again.