Life is Beautiful: How a Lost Girl Became a True, Confident Child of God by Sarah M. Johnson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Life is Beautiful: How a lost Girl Became a True, Confident Child of God, by Sarah M. Johnson will hook you from the beginning. I read this book in a matter of hours, unable to put it down. The vividness of the book will take you on an emotional rollercoaster with Sarah as she tells her story.
Sarah walks away from a plane crash virtually uninjured, well at least physically. The memory of the crash, that day, will immediately hook you into the book; but, it is the rest of the book that brings Sarah’s story full circle. During the book you learn more about Sarah’s life and some of the struggles she and her family endured leading up to the crash. Sarah talks about life before the crash, during the time of the crash, and after the crash, often changing time frames with each chapter. By sharing her story in this matter, the reader is able to gain a full picture of Sarah’s life and how God and her relationship with and journey to finding God has shaped her life.
This story is not always pretty. The family had some difficult times: Sarah’s father struggled with drug use, which affected the way he related with his family greatly. He is able to turn his life around and dedicate it to being a better husband, father, and person by choosing a life of serving others. Sarah then struggles with alcohol use herself and her family tries to bring her back in and help her. Ultimately, missions work in Guatemala was going to be a fresh start for Sarah and her family. Then everything changes, and the fresh start Sarah was hoping for, took shape in a much different way. Sarah is strong, but soon learns she is not strong enough as her depression deepens and her alcohol use becomes dependence.
This is a beautiful story about the power God’s Will has in our life, especially when we seek relationship Him. Sarah’s journey to finding God and desiring to be closer to Him enables her to start the journey toward healing and turning her life around.
I am so glad Sarah shared her story. “Life is Beautiful” proves that even the most tragic situations and “ugly” life circumstances help shape who we are, and are ultimately ways we can share a deeper relationship and dependence on God. In our darkest moments, He is there to offer us grace, happiness, and love which is so exquisitely exemplified in “Life is Beautiful.”
This book is very well written and I would give it five out of five stars!
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