Becoming the Woman God Made You to Be

     Tammy Evevard, your prayer has been answered. At least one of them, anyway. In the introduction of Becoming the Woman God Made You to Be, you tell the reader: “My prayer is that this book comes at just the right moment for you.”  I mention this, because this book did indeed come at the right time.  I had selected this one to review a month and a half ago, and it arrived this week, precisely when God knew I would need to read the first two chapters.  These pages happen to include two Scripture passages which the Lord has used over and over again in my life to remind me of His love for me and His Presence within me.  Romans 8:38-39 and Psalm 139 are powerful reminders of God’s love and how He saw us in the womb and sees us now: as “fearfully, wonderfully made.” 

     Though some very painful stories are shared, Evevard keeps things focused on how God has used people who have been hurt and broken, who aren’t quite society’s model citizens to carry out His Will, transform hearts, and change lives forever.
   One essential lesson to take from this book is: whether you like make-up, fashion, public speaking, and ice cream or you prefer to go au naturel, select clothes that are comfortable over those that are cutting edge, work behind the scenes, and are lactose intolerant, God loves you for who you are.  He loves you where you are, and He’s got amazing plans for your life.      
     The message that God can work in, with, and through us, regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in, is one that I’ve needed to hear time and again.  Evevard includes ample reminders of these faith facts.  Amazing author, priest, and spiritual director, Henri Nouwen, is one of my all-time favorite writers, so I loved the quotes she included from his work. 
     She also poses some powerful questions: “How bad do you want to be holy?  How bad do you want to be all that God has created you to be?  How bad do you want to get out of the prisons you live in?”  The Lord seems to keep asking us these same questions throughout our lives.  It seems many people get to the point when God says: You love me and want to do My Will above your own.  How bad do you want it? 
     Are you willing to give up anything and anyone in your life if that’s what God asks of you?  It’s hard to say in the moment what we’ll put on the line, but we can rest assured, we’ll always be given the grace necessary to do the Lord’s Will, no matter how difficult.   
      As with many of the points she made, they weren’t ones I hadn’t heard before or read elsewhere, but they were good reminders that women spend way too much time worrying about what others think, when we are always better off concentrating on how God sees us and feels about us. 
      Chances are most women will be able to relate to some story, sentiment, or concern within these pages and be reminded what God wants them to know about the beauty of being a W-O-M-A-N.     
     You can purchase this book here.

     I wrote this review of Becoming The Woman God Made You to Be for the free Catholic book review program, Tiber River. Tiber River is the first Catholic book review site, started in 2000 to help you make informed decisions about Catholic book purchases. I receive free product samples as compensation for writing reviews for Tiber River.