Author: Becky Thompson
Source: Blogging for Books
Goodreads Summary:
God’s love, plans, and promises for you are forever unfolding.
I get it, Momma. I totally get it.
Every day you wake up and try your very best. You love, give, and pour out your life for the ones who call you Momma. But no matter how much you offer, there are still days you feel as though you come up short. You worry, Am I loving these babies enough? Is this ever going to get easier? Why does it seem like I am the only one who cannot balance it all?
Sometimes, we just need hope (and maybe a long uninterrupted nap). We need someone to help tune our hearts to the voice of the Father and to remind us that He has not forgotten about us.
In Hope Unfolding, Becky Thompson is a friend who reminds you that you aren’t alone, and that God is still writing your story. She guides you to encounter the Truth of God’s presence that not only fuels you with strength, but also a fresh confidence. And beyond gaining faith that tomorrow could be different, you find hope and purpose where you are standing today.
My Thoughts:
I don't talk a whole lot about my faith. It is just something that for me is a very private thing. I would say even that until a year ago, I wasn't even sure I had any. But then sometimes things happen, where you realize you can't get through something alone, that you need more help than can possibly exist on this earth. This post will probably be one of the most intimate I have written for my blog, so bear with me.
This past year has been one of the toughest of my whole life. One of the happiest, but also one of the hardest. Funny how they can go hand in hand. Little man was born two months early, I spent a whole month before he was born in the hospital with uncontrollable high blood pressure - the day he was born, I almost died. He almost died. That was the longest night of my life, and I barely remember it all. I do remember at one point saying to myself that I was going to live. And I started praying. I just started praying the Lord's Prayer over and over and over (interspersed with FDR's "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" for some reason). The boy still has a lot of struggles and challenges to overcome, and we work hard everyday together, along with his father and our whole family sometimes. But his smile is amazing and his laugh and the mischievous twinkle in his eye - and I know that God is with us.
When I received this book, I didn't know how much I needed it. I would just read it and cry sometimes, at the truth of it. Of how closely these situations and feelings mirrored my own, sometimes in just small everyday things. Thompson can take a real life moment and so connect it to scripture in just that way that it makes perfect sense. I think every mom feels the way that Thompson describes sometimes, doubting ourselves, wondering if we are doing the right thing. We look at this mom, we look at that mom, and we think, should we be doing that? Am I doing this all wrong? Am I screwing my kid up forever!? Thompson tackles all of the topics that new moms worry about, and in my opinion, after reading what she says, I think new moms will walk away feeling a bit stronger, a bit more confident, a little less worried and scared. And not as alone.
Do you need to be religious to read this book? Absolutely not. I think this book is perfect for any new mother out there. Yes, there is a lot of religion in this book of course, that is part of the point of it - but I still think that it is a beneficial read for any new mom out there struggling, whether they are a religious woman or not. You feel less like you are the only one out there feeling these feels, knowing that other moms are struggling with the very same things you are. I highly recommend this book to all those new mommas out there - sometimes we just need a little help, a hug, or the knowledge that we are not the only ones.
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
It's amazing how this book happened to come at this time to you. And wow how it spoke to you, giving you comfort after your pregnancy and birthing trials and giving you bits of guidance in your unknown navigation of motherhood to a preemie.
ReplyDeleteI agree - this is not normally a book I would even read, honestly, so to have had it made such an impact is amazing really. I think Thompson did a great job speaking the worries and thoughts of "everywoman" who has had a baby; it just spoke to me on many different levels.
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