Book Review - I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy by Angie Smith

As I have said before, I have been a reading machine this summer. One of the books I have read is I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy by Angie Smith. To be honest I never thought I would have read this book because I have never experienced the loss of a child. But when Barnes & Noble offered this book as a free ebook I decided to read it. I have been following Angie Smith's blog Bring The Rain for a couple of years now so I figured I knew her whole stoy.Boy was I wrong!

I Will Carry You is not a book just for someone who is experiencing the loss of a child but it is also for everyone who has to overcome something painful in their life. 

Borders.com describes the book as follows ...

In 2008, Angie Smith and her husband Todd (lead singer of the group Selah) learned through ultrasound that their fourth daughter had conditions making her "incompatible with life." Advised to terminate the pregnancy, the Smiths chose instead to carry this child and allow room for a miracle. That miracle came the day they had Audrey Caroline and got the chance to love her for the precious two-and-a-half hours she lived on earth. Upon receiving the original diagnosis, Angie started a blog (Bring the Rain) to keep family and friends informed of their journey. Soon, the site exploded in popularity, connecting with thousands who were either experiencing their own heartbreaking situations or simply curious about how God could carry someone through something so tragic. I Will Carry You tells the powerful story of a parent losing her child, interwoven with the biblical story of Lazarus to help those who mourn to still have hope - to find grace and peace in the sacred dance of grief and joy. 

 I thought that by reading Angie's blog I knew everything that there was to know about Angie and Todd's story but this story shared more details and was really spoken from her heart. 

I loved that every chapter started with a quote. I loved how you could feel Angie's emotions and love for God. I felt a sense of comfort when Angie cried out to God in anger and frustration. I was encouraged when Angie leaned on not her own understanding but on God's. 

A few of my favorite quotes from the book are ...

* "I'm sure that you can think of areas in life where you feel let down by God, even things that have pushed you away from relationship with Him. I won't say I don't understand the questioning because quite frankly it makes all the human sense in the world. What kind of God watches a mother hold her dying baby?"

* "I believe that everything that happens in our lives, however awful, is an opportunity to bring glory to Jesus. Have I wished it had been in a different way? Of course I do. And you probably do too. If I choose to, I can hold that against Him. I can let it embitter me for the rest of my days, as I walk around finding holes in everything He has done. All of us will have times of crisis. The most we can do is put our hands on the stone and accept what happens next with the grace that says circumstances will define neither God's love for us nor our love for God."

* "He gives and He takes away. Have I had moments of genuine questioning where I blamed myself and anyone else I could? Yes. But when those thoughts come, and they will, we must make a choice about who we will be from this day forward. Either we will go through life as bitter servants, or we will  make Him famous with our love. I want Him to be famous."

* "Whatever it is, a loss, a divorce, a death, a hurt, something you feel is out of your control, forgotten by the One who could make it right again - know this. He has not forgotten. He heard you call."

* "Many things in this life are not meant to be understood. We are simply not strong enough to bear them, but where there are gaps in our understanding, there is also the grace of God who has chosen to carry the traveling case for us. Our role is to trust it into His keeping."

If you felt that this book isn't for you - think again. This book is for everyone. Through Angie's book I have learned that while I cannot control the bad things that happen in my life but I can control how I show God's love through each of my trials.


I highly recommend this book to everyone and if you were unable to get the free ebook through Barnes & Noble click the link and it will take you to Amazon.com for purchase.You will not be disappointed.
    I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy