Just Show Up by Kara TippettsJill Lynn Buteyn
Published by David C Cook on October 1st 2015
Genres: Biography & Autobiography, Religion, Christian Life, Health & Fitness, Family & Relationships, Religious, Medical, Women’s Issues, Friendship, Death, Grief, Bereavement, Diseases, Cancer
Pages: 192
Format: Paperback
Goodreads
Kara Tippetts’s story was not a story of disease, although she lost her battle with terminal cancer. It was not a story of saying goodbye, although she was intentional in her time with her husband and four children. Kara’s story was one of seeing God in the hard and in the good. It was one of finding grace in the everyday. And it was one of knowing “God with us” through fierce and beautiful friendship. In Just Show Up, Kara and her close friend, Jill Lynn Buteyn, write about what friendship looks like in the midst of changing life seasons, loads of laundry, and even cancer. Whether you are eager to be present to someone going through a difficult time or simply want inspiration for pursuing friends in a new way, this eloquent and practical book explores the gift of silence, the art of receiving, and what it means to just show up.
Recently I received the book, Just Show Up: The Dance of Walking Through Suffering Together by Kara Tippetts and Jill Lynn Butelyn. “Living our stories together,” as the back of the book says. That’s what this is all about. Although this book tells the story of Kara’s cancer, that’s not the focus. The focus is Jesus… and praising Him through our everyday lives by showing up for each other. By loving each other. “The beauty in showing up, in choosing to enter the dance even though you might not know the steps, is that God creates something beautiful from our attempts.” The two authors, Kara Tippetts and Jill Lynn Buteyn, have succeeded in writing an instruction manual for others on how to be there – how to “just show up” for someone who is going through a “hard”, as they liked to put it.
I found that as I read Just Show Up, God kept bringing to my mind the names of the people in my life who practiced the act of “showing up” when I was involved in a near fatal car accident back in August of 2012, whether it was for physical assistance or emotional assistance. I almost feel like I could write a book of all the stories of all the times my friends were there when I needed them. I am truly blessed by the family and close friends in my life and don’t know what I would do without each and every one of them. This book allowed me to stop along the way and individually pray for each of these people as they came to my mind as I remembered how each one had blessed my life. This book resonated with me as I was able to see God’s gift inside of each of us that leads us to show up in the lives of others.
A warning here folks: This book isn’t an easy read filled with “warm and fuzzies”. This is a real book with real situations and hard topics and discussions. The fact that the authors share through the honesty of their situation – by transparent for us to see inside their lives – makes this book simply beautiful. There have been times in my past when I didn’t know the right words to say or the right gesture to make, so I did nothing. Just Show Up has made me realize doing nothing is not the right answer, and the next time I’m presented with an appropriate situation, I will – as they say – Just Show Up!
If you are reading this post and you think to yourself “this book just isn’t for me” – well, that means this book is probably just for you. Showing up and being available for other people in community who are hurting is something that God leads us all to do and this book is basically your instruction manual. The authors share their insights and provide ideas for your situation in the event you aren’t sure how to just show up for someone. They share direction on how to be kind and sensitive and to be respectful with words even if there are no “perfect” words to say. The book shows us that when we let God lead us, He will surely use us in the lives of others, using our specific gifts and strengths to be just exactly what they need.
If you want to learn more about Jill Lynn Buteyn and Kara Tippetts, I’ll direct you over to Jill Lynn’s website – HERE. If you’d like to purchase this book, I’ll direct you over to Family Christian’s website HERE.
Disclosure: I’d like to thank Family Christian for providing me with a copy of this book without cost in exchange for my honest review and unbiased opinion. They are the greatest!
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