by Lysa TerKeurst, 2018
Very helpful book about coping when your life is shattered into dust by heartbreak. The title is so fitting — when I experience major heartbreaks and disappointments, I wonder if God has forgotten me and even if He is a good God. This book offers solid, grounded, biblical reassurance that God never leaves us nor forsakes us and He is good, only good. Thank you, Lysa, I needed that!
The first chapter is called, ‘Between Two Gardens,’ and illustrates how life in the middle, between the two gardens (Eden of Genesis and Eden Restored in Revelation 21), will be full of mourning and crying and pain.
…As we talked about earlier, everything on this side of eternity is in a state of decay. This is simply the natural result of sin entering the equation. Bright days become dark nights. The laughter of living will be eclipsed by the tears of dying. The excitement of this moment is torn away by the disappointment of the next moment. This constant threat to our deep feelings ushers in depression, anxiety, callousness, and, quite honestly, a skepticism about the goodness of God.
Unless.
We see that all those harsh realities aren’t the end, but rather a temporary middle space. Not the place where we are meant to wallow and dwell. Rather the place through which we will have to learn to wrestle well…
from page 9
From page 17, in the chapter called, ‘Dust,’ when your life feels shattered into dust:
We want God to fix it all. Edit this story so it has a different ending. Repair this heartbreaking reality.
But what if fixing, editing, and repairing isn’t at all what God has in mind for us in this shattering?
What if, this time, God desires to make something completely brand-new? Right now. On this side of eternity. No matter how shattered our circumstances may seem.
Dust is the exact ingredient God loves to use…
When His timing seems questionable, His lack of intervention seems hurtful, and His promises seem doubtful, I get afraid. I get confused. And left alone with those feelings, I can’t help but feel disappointed that God isn’t doing what I assume a good God should do.
from page 23 in chapter called ‘Dust’
I used up two packages of sticky notes marking pages with meaningful statements. There are so many profound words and verses in this book that I should probably own it. If I were to re-type them all in this book report, I’d almost re-type the whole book! So let me try to boil it down: We live in a broken world between two perfect gardens. Because it is broken, we will experience mourning, crying, and pain. God is with us, cling to Him, open His Word, look to Jesus, trust Him. He will make this dust of shattered life into something beautiful.
I especially liked her chapter entitled, ‘Exposing The Enemy,’ in which she describes the tactics Satan uses to lure us away from God.
In this world, the enemy wants to tempt, deceive, and accuse us:
The enemy’s deception is hand-designed to draw your attention, affection, and worship away from God, the only true fulfillment of our hearts’ longings. Satan rebelled against the Creator, and he wants you to do the same, to be caught in the pursuit of desires that will never satisfy…
from page 162
The last part of the book is ‘Scriptures’ in which she reprints all of the many scriptures used in the book. There are 21 pages of the most beautiful verses from God’s Word to read and re-read when life’s disappointments leave us shattered.
In this book, Lysa TerKeurst writes about her devastation when her husband reveals he is having an affair and, in the midst of this, she is diagnosed with breast cancer and has a double-mastectomy. God truly used Lysa as an instrument of His love and grace because through her experiences and her faith, honesty, and well-written words and well-chosen Scriptures, we see what is really happening on this earth when we have life-shattering disappointments, and how we can cope well.