Each month, you’ll hear from one of us on what we’re reading and a little bit about the book. Enjoy!
Over the past two months, the brevity of life has been very real to my family. Merriam-Webster defines brevity as “the quality or fact of lasting only for a short period of time.” This was never more real to me than the week we found out my uncle unexpectedly passed from this life into eternity and my aunt’s cancer had spread to her brain and she didn’t have much time left on this earth.
As I processed t
he grief, emotions, and questions, I began reading She Reads Truth: Holding Tight to Permanent in a World That’s Passing Away by Raechel Myers and Amanda Bible Williams. The subtitle alone paints a picture with a very clear reminder that everything in this world is passing away. Hebrews 13:14a says, “For this world is not our permanent home” (NLT). Have you experienced this personally—the “passing away” of this world?
Raechel shared her “passing away” as she wrote about her family being torn apart and the loss of her precious baby girl, Evie Grace, on April 7, 2008. When sharing about the loss of Evie, Raechel writes, “This was not hello. Birth was good-bye.” Amanda’s “passing away” looked different as she shared the difficult journey of losing her father and her family losing their home. In one chapter, Amanda writes, “Life is a given until it isn’t. Death is so much easier to ignore when it’s an abstract concept, one newscast removed. Death on a timer, however, demands constant attention.”
I’m so thankful that verse in Hebrews doesn’t end with the reality that this world is not our permanent home. The second part of that verse says, “We are looking forward to a home yet to come” (NLT). There’s such hope in our longing for a home free from death, hurt, pain, grief, suffering, etc. The struggles, hurts, and suffering in this world are very real, but in the midst of them, we can believe God’s promises found in His Word and hope for our “home yet to come.”
“It is not an either/or situation. It is a both/and,” says Amanda. She goes on to say, “We are afraid, AND God is trustworthy. Awful things happen, AND God is wholly good. We are sick, AND Jesus is the Great Physician. The world is passing away, AND God’s kingdom will stand.”
Throughout this season, I’ve had one friend who regularly reminds me to “keep clinging to Jesus.” In this world that’s passing away, I’m holding tightly to the only thing I know to be permanent and that’s Truth. In the last chapter of the book, Amanda says, “our earnest prayer is that you set this book aside and hold tight to the only Book that will last.”
Regardless of the season, God’s promises, covenant, love, mercy, hope, sovereignty, and gospel is permanent while the world’s promises, our good intentions, our good behavior, our bodies, our plans, our power, and our belief are passing away. I’m so thankful for Truth that is permanent and will remain permanent long after I’ve passed from this life.
“She wants to know what is true—not partly true, or sometimes true, or almost true. She wants Truth itself. She is you.”
We had so much fun telling the world that we are “she”s who read Truth! We’d love for you to do the same. On Instagram, write #SheIsMe nice and bold on a piece of yellow paper and take a photo of yourself holding it. Tell the Truth of your unique story in your post and be sure to include #SheIsMe and #SheReadsTruthBook. We can’t wait to see your face!
Heather Nunn is a publisher who loves discipling and developing women. Passionate about encouraging her authors as they minister to readers, Heather brings unique strengths to the role of Publisher for Women’s Books at B&H Publishing Group. Heather holds a Master’s Degree from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Arts from Campbellsville University. She lives in Nashville where she feeds her extrovertedness by surrounding herself with great friends and community.
