Hagerty Sara - Every bitter thing is sweet: tasting the goodness of God in all things

With vulnerability and insight, Sara Hagerty shares her story and invites the deep parts of us to find the deep parts of Him, where life is found. It is a profound testimony to the love and goodness of an intimate and beautiful God.

Stasi Eldredge

coauthor, New York Times bestseller Captivating

Sara poetically takes us on a fresh yet familiar journey delays, pain, stress, loss that leads us to the feet of the one whom our soul loves. This book is a tender cry for all of us to find His beauty in the middle of all of our frustrations, and a beautiful reminder that He sees us through it all. You will be deeply encouraged and moved by this stunning book.

Jennie Allen

author, Anything and Restless

Each year I choose a best book of the year to recommend or give to friends. This year my choice is clear, for Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet is a life changer! Sara Hagerty has a depth in her soul, the tongue of a skillful writer, and an amazingly compelling story. Thank you, Sara, for giving us what we need the most, whether we realize it or not: more intimacy with this mysterious God who sees us, shapes us, and shows up in our lives with bursts of glory.

Dee Brestin

author, Idol Lies, The God of All Comfort, and The Friendships of Women

If you have struggled with the goodness of God in the valleys of life, then this book is for you. Sarah beautifully paints how God gently and tenderly revealed Himself in the midst of her seasons of longing and waiting.

Noelle Dienert Davis

granddaughter of Ruth and Billy Graham

From page one, Saras poetic and vulnerable writing invites readers to truly experience the pain and redemption she has experienced and that we all can relate to. Her hunger to experience Gods presence and her description of what that looks like will inspire you to find God in every circumstance of your life, bitter and sweet, and lead others to do the same.

Sara Hall

professional track athlete

Sara Hagerty has traveled an unlikely route to joy. Instead of harboring bitterness and resentment because of her barrenness, Sara learned that out of something painful, something beautiful can grow. The book is like a garden of beauty with so many blossoms of hope that were birthed in her barrenness. What God taught Sara in her struggles will inspire any woman with a pulse.

Jackie Kendall

bestselling author, Lady in Waiting

God is still in the business of giving beauty for ashes. Saras story proves it. Stunningly honest and moving. You dont just read this book; you experience it.

Stacey Thacker

coauthor, Hope for the Weary Mom

With penetrating vulnerability and insight, Sara Hagerty brings us into the deep wrestling of our hearts in pain and delay, offering us the lifeline she found in the darkness: fellowship with the heart of Jesus. The gold of this book will leave you thirsting for more of God and equipped to find Him even in the hardest times.

Dana Candler

author, Deep unto Deep

This book is an exquisite love story between a woman and her God. Prepare to be swept away by Saras storytelling and by the God who loves her and you! This is one of my all-time favorite reads by one of my all-time favorite authors.

Joy Forney

joyforney.org

In her book, Sara poetically draws us into her story of loss, grief, and redemption, and of how Gods name was written over every word of it, drawing her to Himself and showing her that He is not only a good God but a God who is good to her.

Kelly Raudenbush

The Sparrow Fund

Sara Hagertys journey from barrenness to abundance takes readers through droughts and valleys only to surprise us with streams of living water. Hers is a story of miraculous, persistent grace that makes me want to know God more deeply, especially through the hardest times.

Amy Julia Becker

author, Small Talk and A Good and Perfect Gift

In prose as lyrical as it is luminous, Sara Hagerty takes us on an unforgettable and remarkably personal journey into the gracious heart of Providence by expositing her struggles with marriage, infertility, and international adoption. At once passionate and intimate, this book is a trail guide to the mysterious wilderness of faith and a confirmation of the treasures that await those who persist in walking the narrow road.

Corban Addison

internationally bestselling author, Garden of Burning Sand

Sara Hagerty is my favorite new writer. This book is a gripping read that tugged on my heartstrings and helped shift my paradigm about how lifes bitter things, over time, can become sweet. I will read everything she writes.

Esther Fleece

CEO of L&L Consulting, Communicator and Catalyst Backstage Host

ZONDERVAN

Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet

Copyright 2014 by Sara Hagerty

ePub Edition August 2014: ISBN 978-0-310-33995-3

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hagerty, Sara, 1977

Every bitter thing is sweet : tasting the goodness of God in the midst of lifes losses / Sara Hagerty. 1 [edition].

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-310-33994-6 (hardcover : alk. paper)

1. Spirituality Christianity. 2. Spiritual life Christianity. 3. Expectation (Psychology) Religious aspects Christianity. 4. Loss (Psychology) Religious aspects Christianity. 5. Christian women Religious life. I. Title.

BV4501.3.H34545 2014

248.4 dc23

2014010468

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois. All rights reserved.

Any Internet addresses (websites, blogs, etc.) and telephone numbers in this book are offered as a resource. They are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement by Zondervan, nor does Zondervan vouch for the content of these sites and numbers for the life of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Published in association with Yates & Yates, www.yates2.com.

Cover design: James Hall

Cover photography: James Hall / Shutterstock

Interior design: Sarah Johnson

First printing August 2014

To Nate:

You unlock me.

Youve represented Him so well to my heart.

CONTENTS

Epilogue: What I Would Say to Her (Written Long After the Ink Was Dry)

I open my computer on an impossible day, and without fail there is an email from Sara. How did she know? I wonder. But really it is not surprising. Sara hears from God. Her spirit is so tuned in to His heart that I am never surprised when the prayers she prays over me via email match up exactly with what I am feeling and thinking and learning, even without my having breathed a word of it to her.