Growing Up Saved by Kristen LaValley

 

I listened to Growing Up Saved audiobook read by the author, Kristen LaValley. Hearing her share her stories along with how she has been healing from church hurt and trauma over the years was so helpful to me. Since I was often drinking my tea as she read, it felt like she was right alongside me drinking her own beverage and sharing like a heart sister.

Like Kristen, I have my own church hurt and trauma. Maybe many of us do? I like how the author shares her truths and her heart with honesty but yet she continues to also show us that God loves us dearly. One of the things I was told when I was a young girl is that when I die, I will have to stand before God and tell the whole world all the bad things I ever did. As a result, I tried so hard to be good and was such a people pleaser from a young age. Trust me, living with this mindset of fear, wasn't good. Kristen shares her own stories along that line. Along with her stories, she shared how instead of thinking the worst about what God wants to do to us or for us, she started thinking about how God is conspiring for our good. She used a word, Pronia which she used to mean, "Assume God wants things to happen for your good." She quotes Psalm 23:6, Surely Goodness and Mercy shall follow me all the days of my life." I have this verse on my kitchen wall with a dog and cat bearing those words on them following behind a cute girl. As a result, I could easily visualize this and replace some negative thinking about God with these loving thoughts. She also mentioned that she no longer believes God is standing over us with a cosmic clipboard evaluating our worth. Woah. The little girl in me who felt she someday had to tell the world all the bad things she ever did certainly assumed God had a way of keeping track of it all like a big cosmic clipboard so that also made an impression on me in a good way.

I like how the author continued to be a Jesus follower in the midst of her pain. As she shared, she asked, Where else would I go? I have felt the same way and have continued to be a Jesus follower, although like Kristen, my faith looks different now. She also says sometimes we do have to walk away from the church for a time "to leave the building to find the bride." I could feel that one too and was there for a time. 

If you have had your own church hurt/trauma, I think you will be able to relate to Kristen in Growing Up Saved. I would definitely recommend it to you. I have to add that I love how she took the big Christian books of the 1990s and reworked to titles to be chapter headings in her book.  

I received an audio book version of Growing Up Saved from the author/publisher at no cost. All opinions are my own.