Shattered
God’s view through life’s broken windows
Shattered is not a fix-it-quick kind of book. Instead of the book of your dreams, it is the book you want when your dreams seem out of reach. This brave, honest and funny devotional takes a refreshing new look at the inevitable twists and turns of life.
For all of us at some point, life events can arrive accompanied by grief, heartache or simply a sense of disappointment: when Rachel and Tim’s son was born with severe and complex brain damage, their hearts and dreams lay shattered. But this 40-window devotional explores how brokenness doesn’t necessarily need fixing, and that growth, transformation and abundance can actually happen at the broken edges of life.
Jesus shows us the heart and character of God. His life was hard and messy, and those at the time were baffled by such a humble demonstration of God. They got it wrong then – are we still getting it wrong now? Are we still searching for the Messiah-in-shining-armour?
Maybe, God gives us the greatest view through life’s broken windows.
Refreshingly honest and vulnerable. More than just a devotional, Shattered challenges us to recognise God with us, even in our very darkest moments.
Offering grace, love and comfort, this book of devotionals is a brilliant resource for anyone going through hard times.
A moving and sensitive book, which offers encouragement without papering over the cracks, and reminds us that even though life can be messy, painful and chaotic, love, light and faith are always to be found.
Testimonials
‘While being aware that a book like Shattered might help me, I’d rather sit on a fork than admit it. This isn’t my kind of book.
If I hadn’t written much of it, I probably wouldn’t pick it off the shelf. I’d like to complain that I’m not well served in the ‘Christian devotional’ genre, but it’s more likely that I am simply very bad at serving myself. I’m sure there are many people (perhaps many of whom are men) who feel the same way.
That said, I think Shattered is different. It is the distillation of a decade of grappling with big issues such as suffering, anxiety, disappointment and hope. I believe this book has something new to reveal to everyone, even people like me. So, go on, take a little serving of Shattered – what’s the worst that could happen?’
‘Shattered is one of the richest devotional books I have ever read. It’s easy sometimes to give a book a genre title like ‘devotional’ and then have a kind of picture in mind for how you imagine it will be. Well, Shattered breaks through all those pre-conceptions. It doesn’t follow a traditional pattern and is actually a glorious mix of Bible teaching, autobiographical snippets, uplifting reflections and meditations, suggested further readings and amazing spiritual exercises using the most ordinary of things. The glue that holds it all together is authenticity. The whole book is full of it; the authenticity of Rachel and Tim’s own heartbreak, struggles, pain and humour plus the stories of others going through their own shattering traumas.
Unlike the usual ‘page a day’ devotional format, Shattered invites you to look through different windows of the struggles we experience in life, and to recognise God’s loving presence with us as we gaze. Rachel and Tim write from their own perspectives and invite us to discover the God who is with us in our heartbreak, who weeps when we weep and rejoices when we rejoice, and somehow miraculously enables us to grow from the ashes with a new beauty and strength.
You don’t have to be going through trauma to find this book enriching. But if you have or still are, then I fully believe Shattered will help you walk your journey with more hope, more comfort and the certainty of God’s love always with you. I have no hesitation in recommending Shattered to all.
This book is completely amazing! I don’t think I’ve ever read anything that is so ‘real’. As the parent of an autistic son with epilepsy, the writing hits me with total honesty and authenticity. I absolutely melted over the idea of learning to be content with the skies you are under. More than a powerful message, Rachel and Tim’s deeply affecting words feel like a direction; a goal; a path to follow. It’s incredible that they are able to express the reality of their lives so eloquently and with such hope and vision.
Refreshingly honest and vulnerable. More than just a devotional, Shattered challenges us to recognise God with us, even in our very darkest moments.
Offering grace, love and comfort, this book of devotionals is a brilliant resource for anyone going through hard times.
‘We live in a hurting world, yet we’re often led to paper over the cracks; to present a life in which our struggles are hidden behind an illusion of what we’re told we should be. What if we said no? What if we dared to stop hiding? What if we had the courage to live broken?
Rachel and Tim Wright are honest and real. By sharing their own brokenness, they encourage us in ours, even when it’s hard. They help us acknowledge our pain – to ourselves and to God – and, in doing so, we discover that ‘broken’ doesn’t always need fixing. ‘Broken’ has a beauty beyond anything we imagined.’
A moving and sensitive book, which offers encouragement without papering over the cracks, and reminds us that even though life can be messy, painful and chaotic, love, light and faith are always to be found.
I have had the pleasure of getting to know Rachel and Tim over the last couple of years, and I find them inspirational not only in the way they write and talk but in the way they live. For me, integrity is one of the most attractive values. What I love about this book is that it’s honest and real, and shows how God meets us in the everyday moments of our lives, especially in the hard times.
About the Authors
Tim
Many of Tim’s best friends are trees, although he talks to real people too. He is a thinker, worker, drummer, husband, part-time GP and full-time dad of three boys. He tends to stop to look closely at small things on his way, despite being pathologically averse to arriving late.
He loves peanut butter and liquorish but not necessarily at the same time. He hates plans being changed at short notice but paradoxically would love to be more spontaneous. Like many men, he attempts to bury his scars but fails spectacularly as they rise to the surface uninvited. Regardless of his fear of failure, he fails often, resulting in a tendency to become quite fearful.
Tim feels closest to God when managing a small woodland in Kent. When he stretches up like the trees to the heavens, God always seems just out of reach, even if he’s on his tiptoes. Tim plans to keep on reaching up though.
Rachel
Rachel spends her life moving discarded objects back to where they belong. She is a nurse, writer, speaker, trainer and mum of three sons, one of whom has severe disabilities and life-limiting epilepsy. Despite her guilt, she gets a lot of help because she isn’t Superwoman (just don’t tell the children).
As well as laundry and endlessly tidying toys, she blogs at Born at the Right Time for which she won a BAPs award for Blogger ‘Making a Difference’ in 2018. In 2015, she published her memoir, The Skies I’m Under. She believes an enjoyable evening includes a good book or romantic comedy and a glass of gin with lots of ice. Occasionally, she makes herself go for a run to counteract her love of salt and vinegar crisps.
In lots of small ways, she tries to save the planet and is passionate about bringing a faith perspective to life’s brokenness. She is challenged daily that God can often be found where she least expects Him.
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