260. Hope for Hard Times by Scott Hahn

Hope for Hard Times (30-Minute Read) by Scott Hahn
Available at The Catholic Company

Pages: 63
Ages: 18+
Finished: Nov. 20, 2010
First Published: Sept. 8, 2009
Publisher: Our Sunday Visitor
Genre: non-fiction, inspirational, Catholic, Christian
Rating: 5/5

First sentence:

All St. Teresa of Avila wanted to do was to live a life of simple poverty and prayer.

Acquired: Received a review copy from The Catholic Book Company.

Reason for Reading: I picked this book up simply because it was by Scott Hahn, not because I was going through any particular "Hard Time", though I was/am dealing with an ongoing health issues. However just as I had started to read this book I put it down for a short while as it hit too close to home as a health issue became more serious and I was (am) experiencing what the book calls hard times. Then, when I was ready, I picked it up again.

This is a brief little book; small enough to fit in your purse or a coat pocket and believe me it is one you will want to carry around with you as it is filled with little gems of wisdom and advice. Scott Hahn shows us through Scripture and the words of the early saints that life. is. hard. It is supposed to be hard; but we can deal with it because God loves us. The hard times will end and it is even possible to rejoice in suffering as Hahn reminds us with gems of wisdom such as "If we didn't have the hard times, we wouldn't know God loved us."

Hahn talks of the suffering in the Old Testament, God loves us even when he says no, we are often tested in our faith by the hard times, it's OK to complain *to* God,"he can take it", just not *about* God, (over 40% of the psalms are complaining). All this is filled with wonderful quotes from scripture, the saints, and Hahn's own insightful one-liners. Then he tells us where to get our strength from, God's strength, the strength of Jesus, that never leaves us if we are there to receive it. This little gem will be in my purse and is already starting to show wear from how many times I've re-read certain parts. Highly recommended.

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