The Making Of Us By Sheridan Voysey - Book Review

DISCOVER WHO YOU CAN BECOME

I love Sheridan's lyrical style of writing - so inviting, so personal, so picturesque. Right from the first page, I found myself enthralled, as if I were meeting someone whom I knew, instantly, was going to become a friend. Likewise, when grappling with sorrow and loss, he writes about the sea and the sky, enthralled with God's creation of the earth; noting that the same hands that made the galaxies crafted us in the womb. We are precious. As significant as the stars above.

WHEN LIFE DOESN'T GO AS YOU PLANNED

I remember hearing Sheridan speaking at a conference about how he and his wife, Merryn struggled for years to have a baby. When, at last, they gave up on the idea, and instead took up the post Oxford University had offered Merryn, Sheridan confessed to the mental and emotional battle he fought in having to relinquish his dream job - being a radio host. Inwardly wrestling with doubt, however, he knew he had to make the sacrifice. That story so resonated with me! After years of being published, and having had a bestselling book and commissions from major publishers myself, I knew the Lord was telling me to let it all go in order to support my husband's business. It was hard. But, like Sheridan, I knew God's blessings in a new way.

It is Sheridan's humility that shines through his book. I think of all the Me's I've wanted to be . . . and all the Me's I've become, he writes, wondering if he can be content to be simply a child of God. The truth is, I'm not sure, he concludes. His humour, too, is so engaging as he hides the fact that he snores, while gently chastising his room mate for keeping him awake. Tramping across Lindisfarne and reflecting on the Viking invasion of the 8^th Century, the death and destruction they brought on the monks, Sheridan and his friend miss a vital turn on the path. Is this what happens in life, he wonders? Do we believe our lives will be ruined if we don't make the perfect choice? No! As his wife brings his insecurity to his attention and Sheridan contemplates the way he has tacked on a façade of success, he hears, also, from the Lord: My child. Let the implication of this penetrate, Sheridan. You are accepted, valued and significant already. A lesson for us all there, thank you Sheridan. Read The Making of Us - and I'm convinced you will find your life re-shaped.