Sheri Dew’s New Book is “Worth the Wrestle”
Sometimes we have questions about life, and especially about our faith and our beliefs. These answers don’t always come easily, and Sheri Dew explains this struggle well in her new book, Worth the Wrestle.
Worth the Wrestle Summary
Some things can be learned only by faith. As covenant sons and daughters, we are required to have faith, live by faith, ask in faith, and overcome by faith. Yet we all have challenges and questions that we struggle to resolve. “Will I be able to provide for my family?” “Why can’t I find ‘the one’?” “How do I know if I’m receiving revelation?”
In her latest book, bestselling author Sheri Dew outlines the process of spiritual wrestling, similar to the experiences of Enos and Alma in the Book of Mormon. “Spiritual wrestlers are seekers,” she writes. “They are men and women of faith who want to understand more than they presently do and who are serious about increasing the light and knowledge in their lives.” As she shares memorable experiences from her own life and the lives of others, she explains how our own spiritual wrestling can help us grow and receive the answers we seek.
Worth the Wrestle Review
I always enjoy Sheri Dew’s books. Her writing style is straightforward and comfortable. Reading her writing is like sitting down to a conversation with her. Having heard her speak in both large and small gatherings, I can attest that she really does write just like she speaks. In fact, sometimes when I read I can hear her voice in my head—and that’s not a bad thing. I also enjoy her teaching through personal examples and stories that make it so easy to apply what she is teaching to my own life and my own experiences because her personal stories encourage me to search my own life for similar experiences. And I nearly always find them.
I found Worth the Wrestle to be a particularly relevant read at this time in my life. There are lots of changes in my personal and professional life, and the world has certainly become a more tumultuous place over the past couple of years. And so, there are many issues that have come across my mind that have caused me to wonder and to have questions. While I am a great ponderer, and a pretty good wrestler with the more temporal issues of life, I am not always a great wrestler on the spiritual issues.
Her book is easy to follow and could even be considered the instruction manual for successfully wrestling those spiritual issues. It is laid out in six chapters and a short conclusion. She begins by reassuring her readers that questions are good, and outlines the case for not allowing our questions to lead us into crippling doubt—and how to distinguish between the two. This piece of advice really struck home for me:
Questions are good. Questions are good if they are sincere questions, asked in faith, and asked of credible sources where the Spirit will direct and confirm the answers.
I just need to add here that, while Ms. Dew is speaking of spiritual questions, I have found this to be true of any important questions in our lives. Are we asking because we really want to know the answers or are we just looking for excuses not to do or believe or become what we know we need to become?
She also explains how we receive answers and how sometimes we need to exercise faith because those answers, no matter how hard or sincerely we wrestle those questions, may not come right away. Sometimes it can take time, even substantial periods of time. I think she explains it perfectly when she says “. . . ‘doubting not’ does not mean understanding everything—including His timing.”
And finally she concludes with a short chapter called “What is Worth Wresting For?” And in this chapter not only does she outline some of the things she believes are worth wrestling for, but this statement that can be used as a benchmark to determine what in our own lives may be “worth the wrestle:” to demonstrate to ourselves and to the Lord that we care about Him and His gospel enough to fight, or wrestle, to grow in knowledge and in faith.
Worth the Wrestle by Sheri Dew is an excellent read, not only for those who are currently wrestling with their own spiritual issues, but also for those who live and serve and work with those who may experiences challenges in their lives. Hmmm, isn’t that just about everyone?
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