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Disappointment, Doubt and Other Spiritual Gifts
A honest, heartfelt and ultimately deeply hopeful collection of stories and reflections on the author's own woeful inability to be the perfect Christian. Acclaimed Christian writer and speaker Mark Yaconelli talks of his own failures and disappointments in Christian life and ministry, in order to offer others hope for the future. From the 'We fall in holes. Plans fall apart. Dreams die. Faith disappers. Suffering is real. We need help to recalibrate our lives back to our compassionate, God-trusting selves. Often we need safe, creative space and trusted companions in order to move through painful and disorienting experiences. My hope is that the chapters in this book might provide that same creative compasionship ... What I'm offering are stories, personal experiences, honest reflections and practices that might help you move out of the hurt and disappointment for a moment and remember your deeper capacities for love and generosity. These are the same stories and practices that have helped me to receive my own failings and sufferings as spiritual gifts.'
162 pages, Paperback
Published July 21, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 5, 2019
I was so hungry for Mark Yaconelli writing that I bought this book twice. Beautiful book.
"Sometimes the hard things in life bring nothing but ruin. Sometimes burnout leads to depression. Sometimes injustice leads to violence. Sometimes brokenness leads to self-hatred. Sometimes doubt leads to a loss of faith. Sometimes death removes all hope. There are hard things and there are harder things.
"The good news (although it may not sound that way) is that every once in a while we get a little space, a little quiet, a little distance from the suffering. Sometimes a friend comes by the house. Sometimes Jesus writes in the sand and distracts us from the shame. Sometimes the hermit thrush sings outside our window and we sense a moment. A moment when we are no longer enmeshed in what ails us. A moment of freedom. A moment when we get to choose. Even when we are cornered by terrible pain, still, sometimes freedom rises up in us and we get to choose. We get to choose whether our helplessness draws us toward or away from prayer. We get to choose whether our grief deepens our empathy or sours us into resentment. We get to choose whether to allow the difficulties we have suffered to break or expand us.
"And if we are able to listen for life, if we are able to tilt our ear toward the frozen ground, if we are willing to be honest about the pain, sometimes there is a gift in what we have been given. Sometimes the veil of tears lifts. Sometimes, our suffering can be redeemed and made useful, our torn heart suddenly opened into a passageway for receiving and returning love." –Mark Yaconelli, pp. 147-148
"Sometimes the hard things in life bring nothing but ruin. Sometimes burnout leads to depression. Sometimes injustice leads to violence. Sometimes brokenness leads to self-hatred. Sometimes doubt leads to a loss of faith. Sometimes death removes all hope. There are hard things and there are harder things.
"The good news (although it may not sound that way) is that every once in a while we get a little space, a little quiet, a little distance from the suffering. Sometimes a friend comes by the house. Sometimes Jesus writes in the sand and distracts us from the shame. Sometimes the hermit thrush sings outside our window and we sense a moment. A moment when we are no longer enmeshed in what ails us. A moment of freedom. A moment when we get to choose. Even when we are cornered by terrible pain, still, sometimes freedom rises up in us and we get to choose. We get to choose whether our helplessness draws us toward or away from prayer. We get to choose whether our grief deepens our empathy or sours us into resentment. We get to choose whether to allow the difficulties we have suffered to break or expand us.
"And if we are able to listen for life, if we are able to tilt our ear toward the frozen ground, if we are willing to be honest about the pain, sometimes there is a gift in what we have been given. Sometimes the veil of tears lifts. Sometimes, our suffering can be redeemed and made useful, our torn heart suddenly opened into a passageway for receiving and returning love." –Mark Yaconelli, pp. 147-148
Did Not Finish
March 5, 2020DNF 52% - I actually did enjoy this book, I just lost interest in it and finally decided to return it after renewing it a million times.
August 4, 2019
This book is a real mixture of the inspirational and the bizarre. Perhaps it is because I am English, but the behaviour in the restaurant described in the first chapter was antisocial and would have had me calling the police. Is that really how you Americans behave when you are having a good time? Similarly, the initiation rite Yaconelli put his children through (boys, of course, not girls - I expect girls would have been at home doing the cooking) was physically demanding but emotionally barbaric, and having this as a preliminary to baptism and entry to the church seems more like a pagan ritual than a Christian practice.
On the other hand, Yaconelli's description of his encounter while protesting against the "US march for war against Iraq" was profound and has left me reevaluating my thinking and behaviour. Similarly the stories of "the dark night of the soul" told in chapter 9 were encouraging for all those who have or are experiencing a dryness in their spiritual life.
Do read this book, and persevere even if you find the first chapter a real turn-off. There are (hidden) gems in it.
On the other hand, Yaconelli's description of his encounter while protesting against the "US march for war against Iraq" was profound and has left me reevaluating my thinking and behaviour. Similarly the stories of "the dark night of the soul" told in chapter 9 were encouraging for all those who have or are experiencing a dryness in their spiritual life.
Do read this book, and persevere even if you find the first chapter a real turn-off. There are (hidden) gems in it.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews