reviewsbyerin

I think you could say that Kara Tippetts has become one of my heroes. This courageous woman faced aggressive metastasized cancer in her late 30s, and although it did claim her life in 2015, she never stopped seeking to glorify God and exhort others through their own times of hard. This book is a collection of Kara's blog posts over the final years of her life, the years she was fighting cancer. It is a beautiful look into the heart of a woman who loved God and her family well even through such awful devastation. I first met Kara in her book The Hardest Peace, and I would recommend both that book and this one to all who are struggling with what life has brought them.

"In our many different ways, we're all living in the desperation of life that hasn't turned out like we'd planned," Kara says on page 155. Kara never focused solely on the shattered dreams of her own life. She recognized that there are hard things for each of us in this world, and the way she wrote allows us to connect our pain and difficulty with her words of encouragement. That's what makes these books such precious gifts, because these words meet us in our deep needs and fears. "We are all desperately afraid of what's hard, but once we face it, it's possible we find a new joy we hadn't known before." (Page 131)

Kara speaks emphatically on the importance of love, specifically loving well. "Love matters, always." That simple sentence from page 236 makes a great motto. Our relationships should always be marked by love, even when they are difficult and it has to be tough love. Hopefully most of our relationships are positive, life-giving ones that build each other up. That is important for when hard times arrive, as I agree with Kara's point on page 171: "The investment in love you make today will affect your tomorrows. Suffering will come, I promise. Work at building the foundation so when the storms come, you can stand, together."

My favorite chapter was the one called Five Thoughts on Dying Well. They're five really good thoughts for those of us who want to live well, too. Kara's perspective on "the long goodbye" of cancer makes you stop and think about your own priorities and goals. What is important? Am I doing those things? Am I living well so that one day, may God be gracious that it be many years from now, I can die well?

None of us are guaranteed more than today. We do take it for granted that we'll have more, and it's not wrong to have hopes, dreams, and goals for the future. But don't let those stand in the way of intentional living today. We have today. What are we going to do with it? "A bucket list? No, I don't need one. I'm so rich. It's relationships that matter. And for me, paying attention to the precious gift of today is the only thing on my list." (Page 113)

Kara bravely faced death and leaves behind a legacy of love for her husband, her four young children, her friends, and those who only know her through her written words. She lived well. May our own lives be marked by such grace and beauty even amidst the hard.

I received my copy of the book from LitFuse Publicity in exchange for this honest review. All opinions are my own. If you would like to read what other people are saying about "And It Was Beautifu," click here.