Growing Up Amish was written by Ira Wagler, who grew up in Old Amish orders in Canada and Iowa. He made his first attempt to leave the order when he was seventeen. Several tries later, he left for good when he was twenty-six. In his memoir, he describes the culture of his childhood and adolescence. He also articulates his growing doubts about his faith and the despair that plagued him.
I read the book for many reasons. First, my mother reads Amish fiction constantly, and I was hoping to gain some insight into why she’s attracted to the lifestyle it describes. That didn’t happen. Second, some of the book took place in Bloomfield, Iowa only a few hours from where we live. A few weeks ago, I drove through Bloomfield and saw several Amish homes so it was fun to read about an area recently visited. Third, a friend has often shared prayer requests about a young, former Amish man she and her family recently “adopted.” His struggle has been great, and Growing Up Amish did provide a glimpse into the anguish he’s experienced.
But, Growing Up Amish raised as many questions as it answered. How can the order survive when it constantly creates more rules that divide the faithful and drive the young away? How do mothers go on after losing their children to the world? Why does the author still live in close proximity to the Amish in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania? What is his life like now?
But the major insight gained from the book reinforced a lesson God has been teaching me for several years. Humans – not just the Amish – constantly try to put the God of the Bible into boxes constructed of their fears and limitations, and God constantly bursts out of them. He is simply too big, too powerful, too fearless, and too holy to be constrained by our lack of faith. Our faith grows only when we look to him and follow his rules rather than making our own.
God, keep me from limiting you to a box constructed of my fears and limitations. Grant me grace and faith to trust your power. Amen.
