By Janey DeMeo
VISTA, CA (ANS) — Sara Hagerty’s life was busy with God-activities. But when God brought Nate into her life, she came face-to-face with a stark awareness that she was not the person she thought she was — and neither was God.

Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet (Zondervan) is Sara’s story-a memoir that unveils God’s ingenious plan to conform us to His image as He shatters our concepts and unveils who He really is.When she also discovered that she was unable to bear children — she who had poured her life into so many kids — she lost her footing and almost fell apart.

Unanswered prayers expose Sara’s misconceptions about God and leave her shaky. But in a quest to discover who God really is, and to draw from His strength, Sara accepts the Father’s invitation to sit on His lap and listen to His heartbeat. There He brings hope and healing-but she must accept it by faith. She says, “I didn’t just affirm; I partnered with the Father to heal.” She also receives the promise of motherhood.

Sara’s story is driven by her sterility, and what happens because of it. Her empty womb not only causes her to pursue God’s depths, but it also opens the way for motherhood through unexpected avenues — adoption.

Crafted in beautiful, literary prose, with mature theology seeping through every page, Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet unfolds Sara’s journey, her pain, her hunger and ultimately her discovery of a loving God who uses our pain to give more blessing. Hagerty’s words whet our appetite to desire more of God.

Bound in an attractive embossed hardback cover, Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet makes a great gift for anyone wanting to know more of God, and turn their bitter situations into sweetness.