Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet
Tasting the Goodness of God in All Things
- Christian Living
- Publisher: Zondervan
- Published: 2016
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Publisher's Description
Sara Hagerty masterfully draws from her own story of spiritual and physical barrenness to birth in readers a new longing for God. With exquisite storytelling and reflection, Hagerty guides readers to a tender place that God is holding just for them—a place where he shapes the bitterness of lost expectations into deep, new places of knowing Him. In the age of fingertip access to answers and a limitless supply of ambitions, where do we find the God who was birthed in dirt and straw? Sara Hagerty found him when life stopped working for her. She found him when she was a young adult mired in spiritual busyness and when she was a new bride with doubts about whether her fledgling marriage would survive. She found him alone in the night as she cradled her longing for babies who did not come. She found him as she kissed the faces of children on another continent who had lived years without a mommy’s touch. In Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet, Hagerty masterfully draws from the narrative of her life to craft a mosaic of a God who leans into broken stories. Here readers see a God who is present in every changing circumstance. Most significantly, they see a God who is present in every unchanging circumstance as well Whatever lost expectations readers are facing—in family, career, singleness, or marriage— Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet will bring them closer to a God who longs for them to know him more. What does it look like to know God’s nearness when life breaks? What does it mean to receive his life when earthly life remains barren? How can God turn the bitterness of unmet desire into new flavors of joy? With exquisite storytelling and reflection, Hagerty brings readers back to hope, back to healing, back to a place that God is holding for them alone—a place where the unseen is more real than what the eye can perceive. A place where every bitter thing is sweet.
Endorsements (13)
“With vulnerability and insight, Sara Hagerty shares her story and invites the deep parts of us to find the deep parts of Him, where life is found. It is a profound testimony to the love and goodness of an intimate and beautiful God.”
“Sara poetically takes us on a fresh yet familiar journey — delays, pain, stress, loss — that leads us to the feet of the one whom our soul loves. This book is a tender cry for all of us to find His beauty in the middle of all of our frustrations, and a beautiful reminder that He sees us through it all. You will be deeply encouraged and moved by this stunning book.”
“or give to friends. This year my choice is clear, for Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet is a life changer! Sara Hagerty has a depth in her soul, the tongue of a skillful writer, and an amazingly compelling story. Thank you, Sara, for giving us what we need the most, whether we realize it or not: more intimacy with this mysterious God who sees us, shapes us, and shows up in our lives with “bursts of glory.”
“If you have struggled with the goodness of God in the valleys of life, then this book is for you. Sarah beautifully paints how God gently and tenderly revealed Himself in the midst of her seasons of longing and waiting.”
“From page one, Sara’s poetic and vulnerable writing invites readers to truly experience the pain and redemption she has experienced and that we all can relate to. Her hunger to experience God’s presence and her description of what that looks like will inspire you to find God in every circumstance of your life, bitter and sweet, and lead others to do the same.”
“Sara Hagerty has traveled an unlikely route to joy. Instead of harboring bitterness and resentment because of her barrenness, Sara learned that out of something painful, something beautiful can grow. The book is like a garden of beauty with so many blossoms of hope that were “birthed” in her barrenness. What God taught Sara in her struggles will inspire any woman with a pulse.”
“God is still in the business of giving beauty for ashes. Sara’s story proves it. Stunningly honest and moving. You don’t just read this book; you experience it.”
“With penetrating vulnerability and insight, Sara Hagerty brings us into the deep wrestling of our hearts in pain and delay, offering us the lifeline she found in the darkness: fellowship with the heart of Jesus. The gold of this book will leave you thirsting for more of God and equipped to find Him even in the hardest times.”
“This book is an exquisite love story between a woman and her God. Prepare to be swept away by Sara’s storytelling and by the God who loves her and you! This is one of my all-time favorite reads by one of my all-time favorite authors.”
“In her book, Sara poetically draws us into her story of loss, grief, and redemption, and of how God’s name was written over every word of it, drawing her to Himself and showing her that He is not only a good God but a God who is good to her.”
“Sara Hagerty’s journey from barrenness to abundance takes readers through droughts and valleys only to surprise us with streams of living water. Hers is a story of miraculous, persistent grace that makes me want to know God more deeply, especially through the hardest times.”
“In prose as lyrical as it is luminous, Sara Hagerty takes us on an unforgettable — and remarkably personal — journey into the gracious heart of Providence by expositing her struggles with marriage, infertility, and international adoption. At once passionate and intimate, this book is a trail guide to the mysterious wilderness of faith and a confirmation of the treasures that await those who persist in walking the narrow road.”
“Sara Hagerty is my favorite new writer. This book is a gripping read that tugged on my heartstrings and helped shift my paradigm about how life’s bitter things, over time, can become sweet. I will read everything she writes.”
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