Because You Are Worth It

The unhappy truth is that most of us doubt our significance.  We measure our importance on the wrong scale, compare ourselves to make-believe beauties, and gaze longingly at the well-behaved children, spit-polished kitchen floors, and scintillating careers of all the “successful” women.  We do the calculations — a right muddled math —  and come away feeling less-than.  Our hearts get tangled in a faulty message of “worthless” and “not good enough.”

Carey Scott needed to let God loosen the knots of insecurity that had wrapped around her heart, and she shares her story with practicality and hope in Untangled.  She challenges her readers to “look past our messes for our messages,” because in God’s economy, flaws are not deal-breakers.  Instead, they are doorways to trust and acceptance of God’s plan.  Carey shares the mike with seven other women who also have learned, through the twistings and turnings of their stories, to let God untangle their expectations; their relationships with husbands, children, and friends; their response to social media; and their yardstick for success.

Carey is very funny, and she uses her sense of humor to shine a spot light of vulnerability on her own painful past and the work of healing God continues to bring to her bruised heart.  Like bread crumbs on the path toward freedom, she lists five areas about which she has sworn off “mummy guilt,” and shares the excruciating process of letting go her white-knuckle control so that her husband could step into his role in the family.  Shining evidence of God’s grace, friendships with other women are an investment and a precious find, but choosing carefully will result in relationships that build up rather than tear down.  Carey laments the sad reality that we are so fallen that even coupons can be a sick guilt-trigger or even lead to a false sense of superiority.  Then, most helpfully, she sets up half a dozen caution signs around our use of social media.

Untangled weaves pleasantly between memoir-style narrative and big-sister-style advice where Carey cups your face in her hands and whispers the truth in love.  Each chapter ends with an anchor in laser-focused Scripture verses, an “Untangling Prayer,” and questions that will poke, prod, and loosen the knots in the reader’s heart.

No Band-Aid solution, Untangled acknowledges the reality that, while God could miraculously heal our brokenness and fix our insecurities over night, “chances are He won’t.”  With that in mind, Carey Scott invites her “sweet friends” to the unguarded life of adventure, lived in company with Christ to guide through the tangles, to silence the lies we speak to ourselves and to restore confidence in and appreciation for the unique workmanship of God.

This book was provided by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, in exchange for my review.   I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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