Mattie Jackson Selecman - Lemons on Friday: Trusting God Through My Greatest Heartbreak

Lemons on Friday

2021 Mattie Jackson Selecman

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ISBN 978-0-7852-4133-1 (audiobook)

ISBN 978-0-7852-4132-4 (eBook)

ISBN 978-0-7852-4127-0 (HC)

Epub Edition September 2021 9780785241324

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021938879

Printed in the United States of America

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For Ben, my Adam, faithful though flawed and abounding in selfless love. You loved with your whole heart and without expectation. Through both your life and death, the Lord has worked immeasurable good in me. Forever, your Eve.

CONTENTS

PRAISE FOR LEMONS ON FRIDAY

When a tea bag gets steeped in hot water, the true content and nature of whats inside the bag, whether sweet or bitter, is revealed. The same is true of people when their lives become steeped in unexpected sorrow and loss. I will never forget how the sweet aroma of Christ, even and especially through honest yet noncynical, humble tears, came out of Mattie when she lost her beloved husband, Ben. I am thankful that she has gone more public with her story, so that others can see in it the goodness of God in times when they need him most.

SCOTT SAULS, SENIOR PASTOR OF CHRIST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AND AUTHOR OF JESUS OUTSIDE THE LINES AND A GENTLE ANSWER

Matties story carries you through a valley of unbearable heartbreak, and in the very next moment you are experiencing an ocean of peace that is the heartbeat of Jesus. Her honesty and vulnerability in this book are a beacon of light to any heart that has experienced total darkness. The courage and wisdom expressed through her words will inspire hope in readers, no matter their walk of life.

LAUREN AKINS, AUTHOR OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LIVE IN LOVE: GROWING TOGETHER THROUGH LIFES CHANGES

There is a sisterhood among all of us who have been widowed at far too young of an age. Thats where our story intersected with Matties. Shes wonderful, witty, and wise beyond her years. In Lemons on Friday she takes us all on a journey that is less about making lemonade out of lemons and more about looking to faith for transformational healing. Her story of loss, with hope, reminds us that partnering with Christ can turn the bitter sorrows of life into something far sweeter than we could ever accomplish on our own.

RACHEL BROWN AND GINGER RAVELLA, FOUNDERS, BE STILL MINISTRIES AND NEVER ALONE WIDOWS RETREATS

An honest and vulnerable peek into the healing spaces between love, grief, hope, growth, and true restoration. Attainable by all, through Gods mercy and grace, especially for the 258 million widows globally we are called to care for in their distress. This is an answer to that divine call.

CAROLYN MOOR, FOUNDER, MODERN WIDOWS CLUB

The most honest, vulnerable, and completely beautiful look inside loss and grief. Matties courage to share her intimate thoughts on love, death, grief, and her unending faith will be a gift to those who have loved and those who grieve. Only someone who has suffered through the death of a loved one can write from this place. Lemons on Friday is a lifeline for those who have suffered loss and those who seek to find joy in life again.

LIZ ALLISON, NASCAR ANALYST, AUTHOR, AND RADIO HOST

Too often, as Christians, we have no idea how to approach grief. We either stuff it down, dismiss it, Jesus juke one another, or end up drowning in it. The church needs Matties story because, through it, she teaches us something about what it looks like to grieve honestly but with hope.

RACHEL JOY WELCHER, EDITOR AT FATHOM MAGAZINE AND AUTHOR OF TALKING BACK TO PURITY CULTURE

Lemons on Friday is a beautiful and raw depiction of what grief can look like and a hopeful testament to how God can take lifes most painful situations and weave them into an incredible masterpiece. Mattie is a wonderfully gifted writer and storyteller whose ability to capture the roller coaster of loss and faith in Gods promises is unparalleled.

SHANNON FRAZIER, MMFT (MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPIST)

No matter what the formatsongs, books, and so onwriting allows us to share experiences with and enter into the lives of people we may never meet face to face. For all those who pick up this book, they are welcomed into Matties personal story of heartbreak and are reminded in the midst of their own pain: you are not alone, and hope is never really out of reach.

LEE ANN WOMACK, GRAMMY-WINNING, ACM-WINNING, AND CMA-WINNING RECORDING ARTIST

E ven when Mattie was a toddler, Alan and I marveled at her use of language and her ability to articulate. So did others she came in contact with, from the shoe store clerk who literally gasped and said, That baby can talk! when our eighteen-monthold baby tried on a pair of shoes and exclaimed, Too tight! to the loud ovation Mattie received after her inspiring high school graduation valedictory address to her peers. Throughout her youth, family members as well as friends and acquaintances have often said of Mattie, She is wise beyond her years.

Mattie has always loved language and learning, so it was no surprise to us that she chose English with a focus on creative writing as her college major. After finishing college, Mattie shared with us that she wanted to be a book writeragain, no surprise. Alan very wisely gave her this advice: Mattie, you are a talented writer, but you need to go live life first. Then youll have something to write about. And thats exactly what she did.