Stacy Averette wears many hats. She’s a wife and mother. She first became a staff member at her church at 18 years old. She has a doctorate in education. She helps others find their way through life as a coach and consultant. She is an avid thrifter and “do-it-yourselfer.”
She is also a writer. Averette has posted on her blog, StacyAverette.com, regularly since 2012 and recently released her first book, “When Life is Hard: 50 Reminders that God is Near.”
The book was born out of Averette’s experiences working at various Southern Baptist churches. As a staff member, she led women, sharing what she was learning about God. But when she became a stay-at-home and homeschool mom, her platform changed. Her children became her new audience, she said — until she found an online community receptive to her wisdom gained by experience.
“I loved sharing that with [my children], but I also was hungry to have another place to be creative and to share – particularly with other women. Around 2006, I discovered blogs,” she said.
Larger audience
Blogging gave her the audience she wanted and she was satisfied with that medium. Not feeling qualified to write a book, Averette avoided the idea at first. It took family and friends telling her that they wanted to share her ideas with others through print for her to begin considering the idea.
Ultimately it was her husband, Eric, who encouraged her to start the project, observing that she “already had a book in her blog.” With the quiet that the pandemic provided, she finally made the decision that it was time to put the blog into book form.
“When Life is Hard” was the result.
Practical and easy to relate to, each chapter addresses a specific time of need in a person’s life. Examples from the 50 included sections are:
- When You Need a Solution.
- When it Feels Like Everything is Falling Apart.
- When Your Heart is a Tangled Mess.
- When You Can’t Sleep.
- When God Asks Too Much of You.
- When You Want an Easy Button.
Each chapter ends in a “Takeaway Truth” — a Bible verse related to its main point.
Emotional exploration
Though all of the chapters stemmed from Averette’s personal experiences, some are more personally meaningful to her than others. There are several that trigger an emotional reaction because she can remember what she was going through while writing them.
“When You Want an Easy Button” is a result of Averette’s desire for order and efficiency in her life. She’s always been a manager of her home and business and is an organized, type-A person.
“But I do know my best writing, my best speaking, my most profound interactions with God have come in the hardest times of my life,” she said.
Another chapter that stands out to Averette is “When You Can’t Sleep.”
“Sleeplessness has been an issue for me my whole life,” she said. “I’ve never slept. I’ve blamed it on parenting, staying up late studying, all those years of school. But as an empty nester, I don’t have any reason not to sleep now.”
She said that during those sleepless times, she’ll go back and re-read that chapter to remind herself that many in the Bible experienced sleeplessness – and that God used those times.
‘Quiet and still’
“I’ve learned to see that, ‘Okay, God, why are You waking me up? What are You trying to say?’ The middle of the night is the only time most of us are quiet and still,” she said. “He is longing to have our undivided attention and sometimes in the middle of the night – at 3 o’clock in the morning – that’s when He has mine.”
American culture emphasizes how people need to be independent and self-sufficient. Averette has recently realized that with God, it’s just the opposite.
She admitted has pursued perfection, only for God to remind her that it is unattainable. Speaking and writing have come easy for her either, she said. It can be frightening to attempt to convey what’s in her heart, she said.
“Then He reminds me, ‘Okay, you probably can’t.’ That’s why you have to trust the Holy Spirit,” she said.
Through all of the 50 scenarios that Averette highlights in the book, she has learned with certainty that God is good – even through times of deep pain and suffering, loss and disappointment and personal failure.
God’s ‘in the middle’
“I know that for sure because I’ve experienced it,” she said. “Certainly, more hard times will come in my life but God’s going to be right in the middle, faithful and comforting and guiding.”
“We’re going to have trouble in life whether we’re 27 or 57 – or 97. But, to walk with God in it all … I can’t imagine any other life. God is so full of surprises and adventure. It feels like an adventure and it’s the best kind of adventure.”
Averette lives in Anniston and is available for coaching and speaking. Her website, StacyAverette.com, features blog posts on topics that range from inspiration to decluttering to parenting. Her book, “When Life is Hard,” is available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle.
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