Life in this fallen world can be hard. Bad things happen for a variety of reasons. Sometimes these things are so hard, people can become stuck swirling in the negativity of the event for the rest of their lives.
Unfortunately, Christian moms don’t really have the option to become stuck. To help your kids grow, thrive and develop a strong spiritual foundation, you have to be moving forward with them.
So if something has happened in your life that has you stuck, what can you do? How can you become resilient and help yourself move forward so you can parent your kids as effectively as possible? It’s not always easy, but it is possible and a new book may give you the extra help you need.
Becoming Resilient by Donna Gibbs aims to help the reader learn how to “move through suffering and come back stronger.” She gives sound, practical advice through the lens of a Christian worldview.
Gibbs begins by explaining why there is suffering from a biblical perspective and how suffering can cause us to become stuck. She also takes the time to explain why you should want to do the work to become “unstuck.”
The remainder of the book details the necessary steps for moving past the pain to a place of healing and moving forward. She covers six main areas needing attention if someone wants to move past a painful past. She uses scripture, real world examples and research to make her case in each area. At the end of each chapter, she includes reflection questions to encourage the reader to actually begin the necessary work in that area.
Books like this can become dry or maudlin very quickly. Gibbs manages to present the information in an organized, interesting and ultimately hopeful way. The stories she shares are relatable, even if the exact experiences aren’t similar to the reader’s painful events.
Gibbs gives advice that is practical and clear to follow. The difficulty won’t be in understanding what you may need to do, but rather gathering yourself enough to actually do the work required.
I’m not sure this book would work for someone who has become so seriously stuck, they actually need the help of a licensed professional. Some may need to pay for the accountability a therapist provides.
I do believe for anyone who was relatively healthy emotionally before the traumatic event, this book can give them the direction they need to move past the pain to resiliency.
Ultimately, any self-help books – even those with a Christian perspective, are only as helpful as the reader makes it. For those who read it and don’t do anything more, they will most likely remain stuck. Those who follow her advice will probably find this book has exactly what they need to begin healing and move forward. It really is one of the best books I have seen on the topic and I plan to keep it in my reference library.
This book was given to me for free in exchange for my honest review. An affiliate link is included for your convenience.