Making Peace with Change: Navigating Life's Messy Transitions with Honesty and Grace by Gina Brenna Butz

Making Peace with Change: Navigating Life’s Messy Transitions with Honesty and Grace by Gina Brenna Butz

3 stars

“A friend of mine told me that when you move a plant, even from one room to another, it’s bound to wilt. It needs time to acclimate to its new surroundings. And so do we.”

Change is a given in life. Everyday you wake up, there is a new change to adjust to. However, there are also transitions. Huge life changes where your world is shaken up and everything you were planning doesn’t happen or you realize you were the planner and not God. Things fall apart or they come together. Transitions bring sorrow and joy. They can feel bad, but they are always for your own personal good. I am entering a huge season of transition. In all honesty, I feel like last semester and this current semester of college has been nothing, but major transitions. My first transition happened last semester when I started teaching twelve hours a week in a classroom with a mentor teacher while still being a full-time student. My second transition happened when I finished my last season of color guard and it’s weird after eight years to finally have closure while at the same time feeling like I had overstayed my welcome. My third transition has been teaching full-time this semester and barely being on my university campus which is hard for me because I don’t see my friends during the day or have autonomy anymore. I follow a strict and regimented schedule. These changes have been hard. Sometimes they have straight up sucked, but there has been more joy than I can even comprehend. God has been so good and loving to me while I struggle through these transitions. When I saw that there was a new Christian Living book coming out about finding peace with the transitions and changes in life, I jumped on the opportunity to pick it up. I read the opening introduction and thought I had found a new favorite book. My heart soared as Butz discussed change and growth while comparing it to flowers because that’s my Jesus jam and it will always make me giddy with excitement. It’s how God speaks to me. I hear His whisper in the flowers. However, most of the chapters in this book are mediocre chapters laced and buttered with sweet white girl Christianity. There are some beautiful sentences and great statements of encouragement, but I never really felt like Butz was calling me out and calling me to action. She was placating my already quiet soul and I was hungry for something besides what she provided. I would equate this book to eating a vanilla cupcake after you’ve eaten the icing. Once you lick it all off, it’s kind of sad while still being satisfying enough to finish eating. You just aren’t thrilled and you will probably forget that you even ate the cupcake by the end of the day. That was my experience, but it may not be yours. For that reason alone, if you feel an urge to pick this book up then DO IT.


“In choosing to grieve, we learn to worship the God who grieves with us.”

Betz really does have some great points on navigating hard situations and why staying in them can be beneficial as well as numbing and choosing to feel numb instead of processing emotions. My personal favorite chapter and why I truly believe God wanted me to read this book was Chapter 9: Navigating Grief. This chapter wrecked me and helped me process situations in my life where I had grieved, but refused to acknowledge that they were moments of grief. I would suggest picking this book up for that chapter alone because it was just that powerful. Betz is still a developing writer, but she has moments where she shines. I look forward to reading something else from her in the future.


Whimsical Writing Scale: 3

Plotastic Scale: 3

Cover Thoughts: I love this cover so much! I love the striking yellow leaf with a teal background. It automatically caught my eye when I first saw it.

Thank you, Netgalley and Our Daily Bread Publishing, for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

Have you read Making Peace with Change? Do you plan to? What are some areas of your life that you need prayer in because you are struggling with the transition? Let me know down below in the comments! I'd love to pray with you and for you.