“Not knowing something already doesn’t make you bad or dumb; it doesn’t mean you failed. Not knowing something doesn’t mean you’re falling behind or fundamentally flawed. It just means there’s more to learn.”
There are times when a book reaches right through the chaotic mess of this world we live in and speaks directly to your soul. I Guess I Haven’t Learned That Yet by Shauna Niequist did exactly that for me. I’m not typically a huge fan of non-fiction as I prefer to get lost in fantastical worlds in my free time; however, the moment I picked up this book I simply couldn’t put it down!
Filled with stories about what it looks like when your world has been tossed upside down and yet you still have to get up every morning and move forward, this book was such an encouragement that it’s okay to not get everything right all the time. As the title suggests, we are all still learning; and sometimes that learning is painful and no fun.
I appreciated the author’s transparency and honesty as she discussed everything from struggles with infertility to dealing with the pandemic in the wake of a cross country move to quieter moments of joy and happiness that reminded her God was still working and moving. I think that this book is filled with reminders for many different seasons in life, but in particular it speaks to the moment that I think every adult is confronted with: the moment when you realize the way you’ve always done things won’t work anymore. So now what? With the gentle kindness of a good friend, Niequist brings you alongside her journey and offers sound advice to help you on your own path.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is or has moved through great changes and finds themself asking that inevitable question: now what?
“Resilience is, simply put, getting back up. It’s getting back up, not just after the first fall, but the ninth and tenth and seven hundredth. Resilience is feeling your exhaustion and choosing to move forward anyway. Resilience is watching your lovingly made plans fall to dust in your hands, grieving what’s lost and making (yet another) plan. It’s being willing to lay down your expectations for what you thought your life would be, what this year would be, what this holiday season would be, and being willing to imagine another way.”
Kathleen Bird 