“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ” (2 Cor. 1:3-5 NIV).
Jacqueline Wallace learned the meaning of suffering at the tender age of fifteen when she began a long battle with the rare disease myasthenia. Through her pain she experienced the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. Four decades later, she faced another foe.
Brokenness to Beauty captures her story and how to find comfort and strength in the midst of pain. Readers will find an understanding companion in Jacque to walk with them through their own battles.
I’m delighted to have Jacque introduce her book to you today. Now here’s Jacque.
“‘I think you should blog about your cancer journey. You have something to say that can help others, so I’ll set up a blog for you.’
“My husband’s encouragement sometimes took the form of a gentle nudge, causing me to take stutter-steps forward into brave new worlds of endeavor. I never in a thousand years would have imagined, let alone pursued, blogging my struggles as I went through cancer treatment!
“But Randy…knew that what I had learned from living with a debilitating disease all of my adult life would inform my walk through this current crisis. He knew these valuable lessons could benefit others if I’d only share them.”
So begins the Acknowledgements in the book Brokenness to Beauty, and so began my foray into the world of blogging, sharing my journey through breast cancer treatment. Little did I know that the blog I wrote during cancer treatment would lead to writing a book about getting through the hard times in life— the times that can break us in pieces and leave us in a pile of rubble on the floor—yet getting through it in one piece, joyful, hopeful and stronger.
The mosaic on the cover of Brokenness to Beauty is a metaphor for the possibility of our lives going from shattered, broken pieces to a work of art; of going from brokenness to beauty. But the transformation, the making of the work of art, is intentional. It is not a work of chance. The making of art is intentional. It is not a work of chance. Click To Tweet
How to do that intentional work, and with whom we do it, is what I talk about in Brokenness to Beauty, using excerpts from my cancer blog, sharing from my heart what I know is real, and works in real life, not just for me but for everyone who will embrace these realities.
In Brokenness to Beauty I take that mosaic metaphor and turn it into practical terms, things we can get our minds around and our hands on. There are four important factors we need in our lives to be able to take our brokenness and build a work of art, piece by piece making a new whole, transforming our brokenness into a beautiful life.
Brokenness to Beauty: Transforming Your Brokenness into a Beautiful Life is a hope-filled book showing us the way to a joyful, stronger, better life through, not around, the struggles and suffering we all endure in this life.
Brokenness to Beauty may be purchased online at Amazon books, Barnes and Noble and WestBow Press Bookstore. Jacque is also writing a Bible Study based on Brokenness to Beauty to should be released soon.
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Sounds like a beautiful personal memoir. I’ll add be sure to add it to my need to read list. Bless you sweet sister. There is much to learn throughout our suffering and it looks as though you’ve made great use of your time in the valley. God bless! I’ll say a little prayer for you and your family today. (HB Testimony Tuesday)
Debbie, I continue to pray for your thorough recovery. Please let me know when your Brokeness to Beauty study begins–I would love to join this study!
Thank you for your prayers! Jacque is putting together that study, not me. Her book is full of Scripture that carried her through her health challenges.
Thanks, Debbie! This book sounds like a treasure woven with colors from both the dark, hard spots, and the lovely beautiful delicate hues of His grace.
I hope getting this post today in my inbox means you are recovering well. Sydney returned from vacation today with her family and is off to the hospital for a spinal fusion clinic and meeting with her PT. And so, we begin..
Pam, thanks for keeping me updated. I’ll be praying for her today. Yes, I am trying to give myself a break and enjoy being still! I enjoyed reading Jacque’s story and the Scriptures she included. Blessing to you.