Bittersweet: Thoughts on Change, Grace, and Learning the Hard Way

I wrote Bittersweet ten years ago—can that be?

And when I reread it, I see a young woman who is longing for a sibling for her young son, and also longing for a sense of stability and safety in the world.

Ten years later, it all still rings true: a woman who wants more assurances than life offers, who has learned the hard way that safety and stability are temporary states, and that change and discomfort are unavoidable parts of life as a grown-up.

If you find yourself in the territory of bittersweet, please know that you’re not alone, and that even though it may not seem like it at first, it’s not so bad here. This is a place where good things grow, fertile soil for resilience, forgiveness, peace, courage. This is where you can sit shoulder to shoulder with people who’ve struggled just as you’re struggling now. This is where God does his best work, his most tender healing, most breathtaking transformations. This is bittersweet.

—Shauna Niequist