We try so hard to make life simple; check a box - good or bad, black or white, even faith or no faith. Perhaps, life, especially a life with faith, just isn't that simple. Especially, when it hasn't turned out how we hoped, dreamed, and planned. The Complicated Gray is my story of a mighty faith wrestle and of a life that hasn't turned out how I hoped. It's a hard story. We all have them. Mine, probably much like yours, is a story that left me bruised, feeling never enough, and really mad at God. It's also a big story that led me to Him. This book is filled with stories that will make you yearn and think and cringe and laugh. It is a messy story because I am not sure faith can be any other way. Most of all, it is a story full of ands. I am a forever grieving mother and a woman who does the work to see the gifts in everything. When we give ourselves permission to walk into the mess of our story, the permission to feel more than one thing, even at the same time, we will find our clarity, magic, and healing. It has only been in giving myself permission to embrace this And, feeling my grief and making it a gift, that I have met this incredible Jesus. The Complicated Gray is the story of my wrestle into His unending grace and love. No longer a hard story, it is my big story of resilient redemption. And, I pray it will help you see your own big story, and meet my Jesus. Justine is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Certified Dare to Lead(TM) Facilitator with over 19 years of experience (based on the research of Dr. Brené Brown), author, and speaker. She is the author of her best-selling books, Ever Upward and The Mother of Second Chances and recently gave two TEDx talks. Justine currently lives in Saint Louis with her husband, Chad, and their three dogs. She enjoys her childfull life by spending time with friends and family, practicing creative self-care, laughing (many times at herself) and building butterfly gardens on her acre of land, which has made her an accidental butterfly farmer.
