A New Normal: Learning to Thrive in Suffering (Joni & friends)

A New Normal

Learning to Thrive in Suffering

A loved one has walked out on you. A car crash has left you disabled and in constant pain. You or a family member just received a serious medical diagnosis. Even worse, perhaps you’ve just returned from a funeral.

How do you begin to piece your life together after it has been changed forever? When suffering waylays you, it doesn’t seem as if anything will be “normal” again. How do you take steps to move from surviving to thriving?

Rebecca Olson walks you through the questions you may be asking of yourself and God as you process a long-term trial or a devastating loss, and she invites you to consider how your heartache, your illness, and your sorrow can be a platform for experiencing the grace of God in ways you never thought possible.

She urges you not to walk the path of pain alone, but to lean into Christian community and to experience the blessing of sharing the comfort that the Lord gives you as you pour out your pain honestly before him. Suffering is an invitation to know the heart of Jesus and to hope in the restoration that the Lord will work on behalf of his children.

About the Author

Rebecca Olson has served with Joni and Friends in various capacities for more than a decade, and during that time she’s contributed to several books, including The Beyond Suffering Bible, Life in the Balance Study Guide, and Real Families, Real Needs. She and her husband, David, have four children.