I received a copy of "Every Bitter Thing is Sweet: Tasting the Goodness of God in All Things" written by Sara Haggerty, from Family Christian Stores for the purpose of generating a review. Italicized quotes are from the book. The opinions expressed here are my own.

And great news! Family Christian is also giving a copy of this book away to one of my readers. You can enter the giveaway below.

God has me in a particular season. I’m learning how to minister to those who grieve.

Which actually means He’s just teaching me to love. Like Jesus.

We all have seasons of grief.

For the loss of a loved one.

For a season that’s coming to an end.

For that something we’re waiting on that will make life complete.

In Sara Hagerty’s book, “Every Bitter Thing is Sweet: Tasting the Goodness of God in All Things,” Sara shares with her readers the grief-stricken journey she’s traveled. 

In the loss of her dad.

In the process of taking on not one, but four, international adoptions.

In her years (not months) of barrenness. 

She bases her book on the truths found in the verse:

The satisfied soul loathes the honeycomb, but to the hungry soul, every bitter thing is sweet. Proverbs 27:7

Sara takes her readers through decades of faith. Starting in her youth, when she first became a believer. To her days as a young bride. To the years of infertility. To Africa when they brought their children home. It’s a journey filled with getting to know herself. And her God.

“I was growing to understand that this season that felt stalled was not one for me to despise. It was one that He not only loved but orchestrated.”

If God was indeed allowing these things in Sara’s life, she had to find a way to not just survive them. She wanted to reach a point where she embraced them. Not because they were enjoyable in and of themselves. But because through these circumstances, she could discover more of God. 

Bitter meets sweet.

“God was bringing a glory out of this barrenness and a great hunger for Him out of our longing.”

“Yes, there was a dance to be danced in this valley.”

I could relate to much of Sara’s story. Not because I have gone through the same things. But because I serve the same God. A God who wants to know me. Who wants me to know He is for me. 

“The psalmist says, ‘And I will look up,’ and I say yes to this with my minutes. When, even just for a moment, I take my eyes off of me and let them gaze deeply into God’s eyes, life looks different.”

Through our life experiences, God teaches us to turn to Him in our seasons of grief. He also guides us into ways we can help others going through their own pain. Sara knows this firsthand. And it’s given her the wisdom, faith and grace needed to reach out to her four little ones who spent years as orphans, unwanted and forgotten.

That’s a grief all its own.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway is open to North American residents and will run through midnight on Tuesday, December 16th. A winner is randomly selected. The winner will be contacted by email and will have forty-eight hours to claim the prize. If unclaimed, a new winner will be selected.