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Every parent dreads the day when their children will say, “Mom, I have been having some doubts about God.” Yet, all of my adult children said this to me at one time or another. As I look back, I think it is a sort of right of passage. How can our children own their faith unless they tackle the hard problems we see in culture.
Sarah, my first child, deeply pondered the question, “How can there be so much evil, pain and suffering in the world even though God says He is light, beauty, goodness? How do the two co-exist? How can one have hope amidst dark and devastating times?”
Of course, these are questions many have asked throughout history. And yet, as I look back, all of my children’s doubts and wrestling with God led them to a stronger, surer faith.
When Sarah first came to me, I said, “God loves you so much. He is not threatened by your doubts. He wants you to know and. understand Him deeply. He has answers to your doubts. But I will believe for you and be your friend.
But then, Sarah’s doubt turned into a deep understanding about God’s love and goodness that it became a book. It is wonderful, inspiring, and filled with personal stories as well as deep theology.
Beauty has been an theme that Sarah found through her journey towards a stronger, more vibrant faith in God. Her story includes personal stories about some of her most difficult questions in life as well as a foundational faith she found in God as she searched for answers to her souls deepest struggles.
Here is a summary.
We live in a broken world. Amid the daily realities of sickness and isolation, disappointment and pain, it can be profoundly difficult to grasp the real goodness of God. But this is where God breaks into our darkness with beauty. In the wonder of creation, in art or film, story or song, in the kindness of his people and the good they create, God breaks into our pain in a tangible way, teaching us to trust his kindness and hope for his healing. Beauty is a voice singing into our suffering, beckoning us toward restoration.
In This Beautiful Truth, Sarah Clarkson shares her own encounters with beauty in the midst of her decade-long struggle with mental illness, depression, and doubt. In a voice both vulnerable and reflective, she paints a compelling picture of the God who reaches out to us in a real and powerful way through the 'taste and see' goodness of what he has made and what he continues to create amid our darkness. 'To recognize and trust God's gift in pain,' she writes, 'empowers us to create and love as powerful witnesses to God's healing love in a hopeless world.'
If you want to renew your capacity to recognize and encounter God's beauty in your life, this hope-filled book will show you the way.
Because I think this book will be so helpful and relevant to many of you, I am going to give away 5 copies. Please leave a comment here or on Facebook or Instagram and tag a friend. I will draw winners by Friday.
Purchase your own copy and read it with a friend!
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