Trusting in God's Goodness When Life is Hard

 

Do you struggle to trust and believe in God’s goodness when you look at all the pain and suffering in the world or when you are experiencing trials in your life? If you do, you are not alone. Yet St. Paul tells us, “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Is this true?

Gary Zimak acknowledges the difficulty in believing in that promise when all seems dark. In his latest book, When Your Days are Dark, God is Still Good: Biblical Advice to Help You Trust in Difficult Times, he shares personal stories and examples from scripture to illustrate that God is present with us in hard times and can use our suffering to bring about a greater good.

Some of the biblical stories Zimak discusses are Adam and Eve, the death of Lazarus, the apostles after Jesus’s death, and Ruth and Naomi. Through these and other narratives, Zimak shows the mysterious ways that God can bring hope out of discouragement and healing out of pain.

When Your Days are Dark, God is Still Good offers no pat answers. Zimak knows that there is a great deal of inexplicable suffering this side of heaven. He understands; he has experienced it in his own life. Seeing the good that God brings out of our pain can take a long time. Sometimes, as in the Bible stories, it is not in our lifetime on this earth.

But we have reason to trust. God’s “actions may seem illogical to us, but that’s because he’s God and we’re not. . . . Choosing to believe in God’s goodness and power no matter what happens can bring us great peace.”

If you are having a hard time trusting in God’s goodness, I highly recommend When Your Days are Dark, God is Still Good. It won’t magically wipe away your doubt, but it can help strengthen your faith. At the very least, it will remind you that you are not alone, that suffering is an inherent part of the human condition, and that God is with us and working in our lives even when we don’t see it.

Open Book for June 2023

 

Welcome to  #OpenBook. I'm joining up with Carolyn Astfalk who hosts an #OpenBook Linkup on CatholicMom.com. Here's what I've been reading this past month. The dates indicate when I finished the books. Thanks for stopping by!

 

 5/2/23 The Place Where You Belong - Nancy Lavo - This is a feel-good romance with a Hallmark-worthy plot. A young woman returns to the small town she left behind where she is forced to encounter the man who broke her heart and is recruited to help save the town's floundering economy.

 

 

5/7/23 The Words We Lost - Nicole Deese - This one was recommended by Carolyn Astfalk on Facebook. It's about an editor grieving the lost of her best friend (and best-selling author) who must search for her friend's last manuscript in order to keep her job. But that will require returning to a town full of heartbreak that she left behind. I really enjoyed this leisure read!

 

57/23 A Tulip in Winter: A Story About Folk Artist Maud Lewis - Kathy Stinson - A few years back I watched the movie Maudie about folk artist Maud Lewis (which I enjoyed), so I was eager to read this picture book about her. It's a charming story about an artist who created beauty despite difficult circumstances. 

5/11/23 Summer in the Spotlight - Liz Johnson - This sweet romance between Levi, a very quiet 27 year old man, and Kelsey, who works as a drama teacher, takes place on Prince Edward Island. When a hurricane destroys the local theater, Kelsey's position is eliminated. The only chance to save her job and the theater she loves is to have a benefit play to raise funds, but she'll need Levi's help to do it. In the process, they both have to overcome their deepest fears. This is the third book in a series, but it worked fine as a standalone. (Read for a book review publication)

5-17-23 Holy Habits from the Sacred Heart - Emily Jaminet - Jaminet is the executive director of the Sacred Heart Enthronement Network. In this book, she provides a short history of the Sacred Heart Devotion and then discusses the ways that fostering this devotion can help heal our wounds, encourage us to develop virtue, and improve our relationships with others. 

5-20-23 Finding Jane in the Box - Jane F. Morrissey, SSJ - This is a memoir by a local Sister of St. Joseph. Now in her 80s, she has lived a fascinating life in which she has served as college professor and missionary to other countries. Pax Christi named her an Ambassador of Peace in 2022. I met her once in real life and she was/is a lovely woman. This is a collection of random moments from her life, but parts of it were very interesting, especially as it referenced local people and organizations. 

 5-26-23 Where You See Yourself - Claire Forrest - This YA novel really opened my eyes to the challenges young people in wheelchairs might face. The author is a wheelchair user who has cerebral palsy whose life experiences inspired this story. Effie is in her senior year and has to fight for accommodations at her high school, has a budding romance, and strives to find the right college for her. It was a highly enjoyable PG-13 story.

6/3/23 The Secret Book of Flora Lea - Patti Callahan Henry - I had enjoyed Becoming Mrs. Lewis and Once Upon a Wardrobe by Patti Callahan Henry and was eager to read her latest release. This story is a tale of two sisters who were evacuated from Bloomsbury, England during World War II. The younger sister disappears one day and the other, Hazel, is forever haunted by it, blaming herself. Twenty years later, Hazel is working in a rare book shop when she comes across a book that tells the tale of a secret land, a story she had made up for her younger sister when they were children. Who knew of the story? Could this mean that her younger sister is still alive? Hazel sets out on a desperate search to find out. I enjoyed this story and have requested more of Callahan Henry's books from the library. 

6/4/23 Bookshop by the Sea - Denise Hunter - When Sophie Lawson returns home for her sister's wedding, she has to see her first love, Aiden, who walked out on her when he was 18. Aiden is determined to make things right with Sophie, who is busy preparing to open a bookshop. When he gets stranded in the small town due to a hurricane, he does all he can to help her out. They discover their old feelings are still there, but can they overcome their own personal trauma and relationship issues to make this work a second time? This was an enjoyable clean romance that made for a great leisure read.

Since spring of 2019, I have been making my way through the Great Books Curriculum of Thomas Aquinas College (I'm currently working on the readings for sophomore year). 

5-13-23 The Divine Comedy - Dante - This was a book on my list that I was looking forward to reading, and I ended up being so disappointed. Dante lived from 1265 - 1321 in Italy and wrote this poem in which he explored hell, purgatory, and heaven. Despite reading the summary so that I would understand what was going on, I still had no clue. The cantos each had descriptive titles to explain the topic of that canto. It still didn't help. I had no idea what was happening in this poem. I read the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow translation (which was considerably better than another translation I had looked at). But, I physically read the whole thing and can cross it off my list. 

My twelve-year-old daughter and I read the following book this month:

 

 

5/16/23 The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise - Dan Gemeinhart - This was a touching story about a twelve-year-old girl who lives on a converted school bus with her father and travels around the country. Her mom and two sisters died five years earlier in a car crash and they haven't been home since. But when Coyote finds out that the park where she and her family buried a memory box is being destroyed, she has to trick her father into going back. The two also pick up some other people on their own journeys, including a musician heading to see his girl, a mother and son starting over, and a gay teenage girl who has been kicked out by her parents, to travel with them. It was quite an adventure and also provided some lessons on grief. 

6/6/23 Endling: The Only - Katherine Applegate - We finished the last book in this adventure/fantasy trilogy about an assortment of fanciful creatures (and a couple of humans) who work to bring peace to their land and come of age along the way.

 

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Chaplet to St Jude

St. Jude is one of my go-to saints. As the patron saint of hopeless causes, he hears a lot from me! My mother gave this prayer to me after she prayed it for a special intention and encouraged me to pray it for a special intention of my own. With that prayer answered, I am now sharing it with you!

Chaplet of Saint Jude
Introductory Prayer:
Saint Jude, glorious Apostle, faithful servant and friend of Jesus, the name of the traitor has caused you to be forgotten by many, but the true Church invokes you universally as the patron of things despaired of.

Pray for me, that I may receive the consolations and the succor of Heaven in all my necessities, tribulations and sufferings, particularly for ... [Mention your petitions now] … and that I may bless God with all the Saints throughout eternity. Amen.

Hail Mary... (pray 3 times)

Saint Jude, Apostle, Martyr and relative of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of Saint Joseph, intercede for me.

Hail Mary... (pray 3 times)

Saint Jude, Apostle, Martyr and relative of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of Saint Joseph, intercede for me.

Hail Mary... (pray 3 times)

Saint Jude, Apostle, Martyr and relative of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of Saint Joseph, intercede for me.

Closing Prayer:
O Holy Saint Jude, Apostle and Martyr, great in virtue and rich in miracles, relative of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and faithful intercessor of all who invoke your special help in time of need.

To you I have recourse from the depths of my heart and I humbly request your heavenly assistance. Help me in my present and urgent petition. 

[Mention your petitions now]

In return, I promise to make your name known and to promote this prayerful devotion to others. Amen.​