Saturday, April 7, 2018

Begin Again: Review


When the middle is real, and the ending seems even more real, it seems impossible to Begin Again. Leeana Tankersley invites anyone who is curious, skeptical, and searching to try beginning again every day. Starting, believing, and trusting again is not a one-time decision, it is a practice. A practice of surrender and walking through the door in the wall saying yes to what is facing us now instead of what was there yesterday. Dropping the old weight and picking up a holy surrender; the practice of beginning again. Taking care of the soul and embracing the art of soulful rest. This book shook up my heart in the best way. I think this is Leeana’s most vulnerable and honest book to date, and am so thankful she embraced beginning again and pursues it in her life, so that I could lean in and listen to the whisper of promise

Beginning again is something I know well. Starting over has been a theme in my life; grieving the loss of a loved one, broken friendships, church hurt, health challenges, and school changes. Beginning is hard to do when the walls seem to high to climb and the bitterness of yesterday wants me to stay locked in the illusion of safety. Beginnings seem impossible to come by when every attempt ends up broken or lost. But this book showed me that no matter how bitter or lost beginnings seem to be, I can always begin again. It is a choice and an offering of what was to accept what is and what could be. Surrender is the key to beginning. Letting go of what seems safe for the chance at living something brand new. Staying in the same patterns is a coping mechanism that easily becomes a haven and then turns into a snare that whispers, if you let me go and leave, you will just get hurt again. Hurt is a promise, but it is not the only thing that is waiting in the beginning; new life is worth some pain. This book reminded me that to begin I must surrender and, in that surrender, I will find life, it may look mundane or open up into a brand-new adventure. No matter the context, beginning is daily as the sunrises rises I have another chance to start from scratch again. 

To anyone who is searching, scared, and worn down by your weights, this book is a beautiful invitation. I encourage you to read it and see if Begin Again is for your today and if not, maybe it is for your tomorrow. 

- Hannah

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