Review: Be Brave in the Scared

I can’t tell you how often I want to go to sleep and stay asleep.
(to God): Don’t you dare let her die!
God was punishing me.
I couldn’t trust someone who hurt those I love.
Damn.  Damn.  Damn.
I gained thirty pounds in two months, and I did not care.
I don’t deserve to be loved.

In the beginning chapters of Mary Lenaburg’s book, Be Brave in the Scared, she is anything but brave.  A strong, bright, faith-filled woman, she is surprised when disasters befall her, her children, and her marriage.  Things are not going as she planned --- and expected.  She blamed God.  She blamed herself.  She heard no answers to her prayers.  She gave up.  She felt alone, and made her husband feel alone.

This is a book about reality at its worst.  We can see ourselves in some of the situations.  We can feel Mary’s pain, and through her healing we can realize that we are not alone, there are reasons, and in the worst messes, there is Love.

I think we’ve all had days, weeks, and even months of what Mary went through, for years.  We’ve felt overwhelmed and couldn’t see a light at the end of the tunnel.  We’ve prayed for miracles --- Mary even went to Lourdes.  We’ve bargained with God.  Still, we felt alone.  And from Mary’s brutally honest words, we can find hope in our loneness.

If you are scared; if you need hope; read this book.  Everyone should read this book.