No Middle Ground: I Will Not Be Broken

-


Sometimes an unsought gift drops into your lap. This happened to me earlier this week when I received an email about Jerry White's new book, I Will Not Be Broken.

This is not a traditional self-help book. Developed from the author's experience as the survivor of a landmine explosion, Jerry White draws on the life stories of others who have faced and overcome large, life-altering experiences (LAEs). Only in retrospect can we say something is a "tragedy." An LAE becomes a tragedy based on our responses to that experience.

After reading White's five steps to overcoming, I realized there is no middle ground in recovery and reclaiming. Either you forever live as a shadow of your former self, or you emerge to become greater, more lovingly creative, and stronger. If you think you're on the middle ground, you're in shadow land. Perhaps this is what the Apostle Paul referred to when he asserted "...in all these things, we are more than conquerors..." (Romans 8:37). Properly understood (meaning from God's point of view), we can not only survive our LAEs, we can "more than conquer" them.

I don't think it's necessarily true that "whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger." Haven't all of us known or observed people who have been warped or twisted by their LAEs? Haven't we experienced the bitter anger of someone who never "got over it", whatever "it" was?

I Will Not Be Broken is not a pie-in-the-sky remedy for hard times. The first healing principle asserted in this book is "face facts." No one overcomes by minimizing an event, a loss, or an illness. Principle number two, "choose life", suggests we can't really move forward until we face facts. Facing truth is always the first step on the way forward.

The direct, conversational tone of this book makes it accessible to readers of all ages. Don't be deceived by the simplicity of the author's language. Following his five guidelines ( face facts, choose life, reach out, get moving, give back) will require a daily (perhaps hourly) commitment to the hard work of healing and recovery and getting stronger. As anyone who's working on this will tell you, this is a challenge worth taking on. You will not only restore your own life, your example will encourage and inspire others.

Read an excerpt from I Will Not Be Broken here.

Comments

Deborah Evans said…
Thank you. I gained some meaningful insights while writing. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Monday, May 19, 2008 at 5:29:00 PM EDT
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mother's Day Remembrance of Love and Beauty

-
Image
--Celtic Knot of Motherhood, from tglass.net 2009 will be my sixth Mother's Day celebration without my mother. In addition, my grandmothers and (ex) mother-in-law, a woman I never met, are also deceased. I am grateful for the "play mothers" who have filled in with a love and concern that go beyond short phone conversations and holiday gifts. "Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." --Proverbs 31:30 Love and beauty are two of the qualities most associated with what most of us consider to be feminine. My mother's love was expressed to me as a child when she taught me to help her in her rose garden and took the time to carefully explain how she cared for the plants. She loved the color and fragrance of the roses, and I came to love them, too. Her love was gentle, but contagious. Whenever I see a vibrant, healthy rose bush or a dozen roses in a vase, I think of her. M. Scott Peck wrote tha
Read more

Higher Ground; Heaven's Tableland

-
Image
(image from wikiwand.com) A hymn I grew up with--one  I seldom hear anymore--was titled "Higher Ground." In the chorus of the hymn, we sang these words: "Lord, lift me up and let me stand, by faith, on heaven's tableland, A higher plane than I have found, Lord plant my feet on higher ground." What is a tableland? A tableland is a plateau, a mesa, or an elevated flat ground. Often sheep would graze on tableland. What is heaven's tableland?  Many commentators have said it is the afterlife, when we all live in the heavenly kingdom of God's goodness. Not so fast. Heaven's tableland is not for the future; it is for now. It is for us to live on now. We won't need faith in heaven. It is only in this world that we need faith. Note carefully what the hymn writer wrote: "Lord, lift me up and let me stand, by faith , on heaven's tableland." In this world, we need faith. We need heaven's tab
Read more

Declaring Yourself "Blessed and Highly Favored"? Slow Down A Bit...

-
Image
--spreadshirt.com I used to speak regularly with someone who often declared herself to be "blessed and highly favored." When I telephoned her and would ask "how are you doing"? or "how is it going with you"?, the instant answer was always "I am blessed and highly favored!" Her answer came too quickly, almost as if no thought went into the response. I understand what many people teach about speaking only those words that reflect the reality you wish to experience. I think I have a least a little bit of understanding regarding why this type of thinking is so popular. I am not sure it's a good idea, or even biblical, but it is popular. I suppose we all like to think we are blessed of the Lord, but what does it mean to be highly favored? I reflect upon two persons from Scripture (Mary, Jesus' mother and the Apostle Paul)  I would consider to be "blessed and highly favored" of the Lord, but their lives were challenging,
Read more