Treasures In Darkness: A Grieving Mother Shares Her Heart

by Sharon W. Betters

Grief can be so debilitating that it blinds you to God's presence. Many who grieve struggle to face the sudden loss, much less embrace it and rest in it. In this remarkably honest book, Sharon Betters tells us the story of her teenage son's sudden death in a car accident. Excerpts from Sharon's journal express her raw grief, anger, and hunger to understand how God can be good and loving and still take away her youngest child.

Sharon Betters draws readers to a passage from Isaiah that carries God's promise to provide treasures for his people in the very midst of darkness and trouble. Whether they're suffering from recent or loss from the distant past, readers of Treasures in Darkness will see how they can experience God's presence and love even during the darkest times.

277 pages, Paperback

First published August 2, 2005

About the author

Sharon Betters is a mother of four and grandmother of nine. She is a nationally known conference and retreat speaker and has also spoken to women's groups in Africa and Japan. Author of Treasures of Encouragement and Treasures of Faith, she has also contributed articles to Today's Christian Woman, Virtue, and Christian Parenting Today.

Reviews

[Tami · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to say right away that Treasures in Darkness wasn't exactly what I expected. I knew the book was about a mother's tragic loss of her young son and by the title I assumed that she had managed to keep his memory alive by changing the world just a little. I rather expected the account of a woman who had become active in mothers against drunk drivers or started volunteering in a cancer ward in an effort to bring reason to her family's horrific loss. These would have made great touching, inspirational tales.

Treasures in Darkness, hardly mentions the feelings of the mother over her son's passing. Instead, this book is a very passionate Christian book about how the minister's wife questions God after the death of her son. The book rather reads as an intense sermon about how she questioned God but found solace in her beliefs. Though definitely not for the general public, I recommend this book to Christians who are questioning their faith after a recent tragedy. This book will give them solace that they aren't alone while encouraging them to hold onto their faith for the answers.

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not an easy read. A mother’s grief over the death of her son, as she wrestles with God and the questions and the broken-heartedness. However, I think that it would be very valuable for someone going through a similar sorrow. The journaling points and Scripture verses offer a pathway forward and through the loss.

[Amy VerStrate · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a lot books about grief and heaven, this is by far the best one that really helped me. I highly recommend for anyone suffering the loss of a lived one!

[Laura Betters · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my mother-in-law's book. It is not only 5 stars because I know and love her; it's 5 stars because she dares to rip open her wounds...to be raw and heartfelt...to revisit her darkest hour in order to help others through their darkest hours.

After telling the story of the night of her youngest son, Mark's, death and the months that followed, she goes on to give hope to the reader.

This book has helped many families walk through terrible grief.