The Life We Never Expected by Andrew & Rachel Wilson // review + giveaway
Things happen in life that throw us for a loop. Maybe a loved one dies, your child gets diagnosed with an illness, you go through hard times financially. There is a grieving process for what you've lost.
Andrew and Rachel Wilson had dreams of what life would be like with their two children. Then both were diagnosed with regressive autism. They were now living a life they never dreamed or expected.
Don't think that you need to have a child with special needs for this to apply to you. This book is for anyone who is currently dealing with hardships and even those who maybe are further down the road. I'm past a lot of hard times, but I'm still dealing with them in some ways. And I know that there will be hard times ahead. The Wilsons offer a refreshing perspective in how to deal with trials.
There were so many good thoughts in this book and two main themes: pain and hope. There is a lot of pain in their writings. They wrote while living what they were writing about. But there is also so much hope.
At one point, Andrew refers to C.S. Lewis' The Magician's Nephew. He quotes the part of the book where Digory is pleading with Aslan to heal his mother. When Digory looks into Aslan's face, he sees tears. Andrew says, "we may never know what the answer is [to our whys?] - but we know for sure what the answer isn't. It isn't because God doesn't love us. It isn't because God doesn't care..... And I can look at the face of Jesus and remember that, whatever the reason for suffering, it certainly isn't because he doesn't care.... In the meantime, though, I trust and hope and wait."
In a similar vein, Rachel talks about what John Piper calls "faith in future grace." She talks about how easy it is to to have faith in past grace, when we can see exactly what God has done. The challenge - hers and mine - is to trust in the future grace. To trust that God will provide for us. I can connect with that so well. A fear of the future reveals a lack of trust in God.
Finally, Andrew shared a beautiful way of thinking about and praying the Lord's Prayer. Those simple words are ones I've repeated since I was three, but in the past year or so, I've learned more about it and the perspective Andrew shares was wonderful.
This book is about so much more than living with and parenting children with special needs. It's about experiencing pain and suffering and grief; going to God with all of it. Weeping, worshiping, waiting, witnessing, and breathing.
Is your interest piqued? Are you thinking, "I need to see if my library has that book"? Well, you could have your own copy. If you would like to enter to win Andrew and Rachel Wilson's book, "The Life We Never Expected", send me an email (smylinggirly.blog@gmail.com) and your name will be entered. The giveaway is only until JULY 12 !!!
**Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.
Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.**
Andrew and Rachel Wilson had dreams of what life would be like with their two children. Then both were diagnosed with regressive autism. They were now living a life they never dreamed or expected.
Don't think that you need to have a child with special needs for this to apply to you. This book is for anyone who is currently dealing with hardships and even those who maybe are further down the road. I'm past a lot of hard times, but I'm still dealing with them in some ways. And I know that there will be hard times ahead. The Wilsons offer a refreshing perspective in how to deal with trials.
There were so many good thoughts in this book and two main themes: pain and hope. There is a lot of pain in their writings. They wrote while living what they were writing about. But there is also so much hope.
At one point, Andrew refers to C.S. Lewis' The Magician's Nephew. He quotes the part of the book where Digory is pleading with Aslan to heal his mother. When Digory looks into Aslan's face, he sees tears. Andrew says, "we may never know what the answer is [to our whys?] - but we know for sure what the answer isn't. It isn't because God doesn't love us. It isn't because God doesn't care..... And I can look at the face of Jesus and remember that, whatever the reason for suffering, it certainly isn't because he doesn't care.... In the meantime, though, I trust and hope and wait."
In a similar vein, Rachel talks about what John Piper calls "faith in future grace." She talks about how easy it is to to have faith in past grace, when we can see exactly what God has done. The challenge - hers and mine - is to trust in the future grace. To trust that God will provide for us. I can connect with that so well. A fear of the future reveals a lack of trust in God.
Finally, Andrew shared a beautiful way of thinking about and praying the Lord's Prayer. Those simple words are ones I've repeated since I was three, but in the past year or so, I've learned more about it and the perspective Andrew shares was wonderful.
This book is about so much more than living with and parenting children with special needs. It's about experiencing pain and suffering and grief; going to God with all of it. Weeping, worshiping, waiting, witnessing, and breathing.
Is your interest piqued? Are you thinking, "I need to see if my library has that book"? Well, you could have your own copy. If you would like to enter to win Andrew and Rachel Wilson's book, "The Life We Never Expected", send me an email (smylinggirly.blog@gmail.com) and your name will be entered. The giveaway is only until JULY 12 !!!
**Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.
Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.**
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