I first came across Rachel Jankovic when I read Motherhood is a Calling (And Where Your Children Rank) on the Desiring God blog. I resonated with her thoughts on motherhood and the value of children.

Recently, a friend gave me Rachel’s books Loving the Little Years and Fit to Burst. Since my kids are a little beyond the little years, I decided to read the latter first.

Fit to Burst could be a quick read — in that it has short chapters that each tackles a different aspect of motherhood. I would not; however, say that you should read it quickly. Because honestly, I think you need to leave time for Rachel’s ideas to soak in.

I have to say, there were a couple of moments when I wish the chapters had not been so brief, so that Rachel could have fleshed out her ideas further to help me understand her perspective.

But then there were other moments.

Like when I read the chapter “Mean Boss” and was immediately challenged to ask myself, “Am I a good boss?” “Am I a hard-working employee?” I had to admit that too many times my answer would have to be “no” to both.

When I read “A Little Morning Rugby”, I experienced true conviction. So much so that I read the chapter aloud to my children, and through teary eyes, apologized, and asked them to forgive me for continuing to throw balls at them while their noses were still stinging from the first missed catch. (You’ll have to read the chapter.)

Fit to Burst will make you think . . . deeply. Rachel shares real life illustrations, puts an interesting spin on them, and pushes us to step back and contemplate our lives as followers of Christ in this calling of motherhood.

The result, for me, was that I was forced to examine how I’m doing as a mom. That’s sometimes tough. Then I was pushed toward Christ for forgiveness, wisdom and help. And that’s always good!