Mattie Jackson Selecman

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 becomesteeped in unexpected sorrow and loss. I will never forget how the sweet aroma of Christ, evenand especially through honest yet non-cynical, humble tears, came out of Mattie when she losther beloved husband, Ben

Mattie's story carries you through a valley of unbearable heartbreak and in the very nextmoment you are experiencing an ocean of peace that is the heartbeat of Jesus. Her honesty andvulnerability 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 mattertheir walk of life.

No matter what the format -- songs, books, etc. -- writing allows us to share experiences withand enter into the lives of people we may never meet face to face. For all those who pick upthis book, they are welcomed into Mattie's personal story of heartbreak and are reminded inthe midst of their own pain: you are not alone, and hope is never really out of reach.

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 Mattie's storybecause, through it, she teaches us something about what it looks like to grieve honestly, butwith hope.