Calculated Hesitation (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781069153708)

Pause. Breathe. There is holiness in the hesitation.

Calculated Hesitation by Canadian poet and artist Mary Grace van der Kroef is a moving collection of Christian poetry that explores what happens in the split-second space between breaking and choosing to hope again. Written for weary hearts, deep feelers, and quiet thinkers, these poems speak to anyone who has ever wrestled with anxiety, loneliness, creative burnout, or the weight of simply existing.

Written in a lyrical, accessible style, the poems in Calculated Hesitation move between the deeply personal and the quietly universal. Mary Grace writes about:

• fear of the unknown and trust in a God you cannot see
• the pressure to keep up with a fast-paced world while your heart longs to slow down
• the weight of your own story, the temptation to drown in self, and the grace of being met by another soul who feeds you truth and companionship
• the way hesitation can be shame, but it can also be restraint, discernment, even a prayer before your next brave step

This poetry collection is ideal for readers who love:

• Christian poetry and spiritual reflections
• Inspirational poetry collections about healing and hope
• Contemporary faith-based poetry on mental health and emotional wellness
• Gentle, truth-telling verses about grief, anxiety, and recovery
• Devotional style poems that can be savoured one at a time

Throughout Calculated Hesitation, Mary Grace van der Kroef writes with the compassion of someone who has sat in the dark and still chosen to light a candle. Her images are tender and concrete, her voice vulnerable and grounded. She does not rush you into easy answers. Instead, she invites you to sit in the tension, to notice the beauty hidden in small moments, and to discover that what the world calls hesitation may, in fact, be holy courage learning to speak.

If you are longing for Christian poetry that:

• tells the truth about struggle
• honours both your questions and your faith
• and gently points you back toward hope

then Calculated Hesitation belongs on your nightstand.

Take a breath. Turn the page. Let these poems keep you company in the pause, until you are ready for your next brave step.