Author: Nicole Zasowski
Source: Kindle Own
My Review:
What If It's Wonderful is a book that invites us to release our fears, choose joy, and find the courage to celebrate.
The author, family therapist Nicole Zasowski, invites the reader into her story, while also pointing us toward God, inviting us to see things in a way we might not have considered.
The tone of the book is conversational, and I appreciate that the author writes from a place of her struggles and fears, and not as one who knows not of what she speaks. I also appreciate that the book is grounded in research and Scripture.
Just a few of the quotes that spoke to me:
I'm afraid we are missing the image of God with His arms around us at the beach bonfire, slapping His knee in laughter when we say something humorous. Do we see Him crying tears of joy when He watches the look on our faces as we open one of His gifts? Do we worship a God who is like this? (what a picture of God!)
My answer to that questions was probably not-a response that grew from the seed of my own experience and desire to protect myself instead of trusting God's capabilities. (How often do we look at things from the lens of our experience, missing the bigger picture?)
Do you choose delight or doubt? Do you celebrate or do you try to protect yourself from further hurt by turning to pessimism and cynicism instead? Does it feel irresponsible or reckless to take a chance on hope, to take God at His word?
My vision was limited to my own story. (Isn't ours as well?)
If you, like me, struggle with disappointments, instead of embracing joy, I highly recommend you read a copy of this book.
★★★★★/5
Synopsis (Goodreads):
Family therapist Nicole Zasowski challenges you to let go of dwelling in your anxieties and fears and instead ask yourself the What if it’s wonderful? These questions haunt many of us, leaving us sick with anxiety and frozen into what if my hope only leads to disappointment? What if I embrace joy only to have it ripped from my hands? What if my celebration is the cause of others' sadness? What if my joy takes me away from the God I knew so well in my pain? But these fears don’t have to control your life. Author and marriage and family therapist Nicole Zasowski knows what it's like to suffer a blow that makes it difficult to look to the future. Despite the struggle, she found the courage to celebrate, and discovered that God is as present in our joy as He is in our pain. Yes, God's purpose for us is worked out in our struggles. But what if it is also worked out in our dreams and our delighted joy? In What If it's Wonderful? Nicole helps with a psychological and spiritual case for celebrating, Nicole challenges you to let go of the habit of practicing disappointment and fully embrace joy, beckoning you to ask yourself a new What if it's wonderful?
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