When I agreed to review dear daughters by Susie Davis I was given an unexpected gift. As a stay at home with a professional degree I have struggled letting go of ties to my former professional life. I admit I still shudder when I check the box marked “homemaker” instead of filling in an occupation.
I’ve had numerous conversations with other mothers about why this might be true for me. After all, I chose to stay home. I wanted to be home. I love my children and want to be with him. I enjoy them most of the time.
Was it Pride?
One well meaning mother offered that it might be pride. She thought that perhaps it was hard to accept the angry words of a potty training toddler when only a couple years prior I had the respect of adults. This made some sense, but didn’t explain my reluctance to let this go. Sure I took pride in my work, but I didn’t feel that “pride” was keeping me from letting go of my job.
Was it Loss of Identity?
Another mother offered that perhaps it was my identify that was being called into question. I had been my job title for so long that I had lost part of myself in motherhood. While I preferred this explanation to the pride idea, I still didn’t think it fully explained how I felt.
On Life’s Purpose
In Susie Davis’s book I found my answer.
Because no matter your age, it’s easy to intermix your life purpose – or identity – with your vocation. They often are entangled, but they are unique and different. One is about your God-gifted value, and that has nothing to do with work. It has to do with your personality, your passion, and your preferences. The other is about your vocational expression of those things.”
Susie Davis author of “dear daughters”
Who better to help us understand our own thoughts and put them into words than an author. These words spoke to my heart. This is exactly why I am feeling an ongoing struggle. I have God-gifted values and before becoming a mother I used them in my work. As a stay at home mom there are many God-gifted values that I feel are often underutilized in the everyday caring for my children. To understand that it wasn’t pride or losing my identify, but rather a want to be able to use my God given gifts really helps!
I am now open to and looking for ways to use my gifts in novel and unique ways. Just because my former vocation ended didn’t mean that my God given values and gifts went away or that I no longer needed or desired to express them. Finding new ways to embrace my God given values and use my gifts in my new vocation of motherhood has made all the difference. I feel again like I am doing the work God intended for me.
Why read “dear daughters“?
While I cannot guarantee that “dear daughters” will offer you a similar breakthrough, I can tell you that the pages inside this book are filled with encouragement and balm for a mother’s heart. Susie Davis focuses on helping you recognize and accept God’s will for your life. She wants to help you find peace in your everyday and enable you to foster connections with other women. She does this in the voice of a well practiced mentor. Susie Davis and “dear daughters” may well be the voice of reassurance you need as you tackle whatever is threatening your joy in this amazing vocation of motherhood!
Contents of “dear daughters“
- Chapter One: On Worry
- Chapter Two: On Life’s Purpose
- Chapter Three: On Loving Your Body
- Chapter Four: On Your Relationship with Your Father
- Chapter Five: On Expectations
- Chapter Six: On Feeling Small
- Chapter Seven: On Transitions
- Chapter Eight: On Living Wholeheartedly
- Chapter Nine: On Finding Care for Your Soul
- Chapter Ten: On Your One Beautiful Life
Each chapter begins with an applicable quote and ends with note pages to record your own reflections and thoughts. Here’s the fabulous quote that kicks of Chapter 3: “On Loving Your Body”!
“Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.”
-Maya Angelou
More About “dear daughters“
Do you sometimes wonder what you’re supposed to be doing with your life? Do you wish you could find someone a little older who is walking just a few steps ahead who would give you some wisdom and remind you that God is still in control and that everything is going to be okay? Would you like a mentor in your life?
Susie Davis understands the importance of having and being a mentor. In Dear Daughters: Love Letters to the Next Generation, she will help you:
- Understand God’s will for your life
- Listen to God’s voice through your daily circumstances
- Find contentment and peace right where you are
- Foster friendship and deep connection with other women
No matter your season of life, Susie invites you to join her in pondering things that matter most. And she gently reassures you that you are not alone and that God is still in control.
Amazon Purchase Link
Other Links to purchase
“dear daughters” book giveaway
I hope you enjoy the book!
Wishing you peace and contentment,
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