I stopped by Barnes and Noble (B&N) the other day. I wanted to see what new books they had on retirement or senior issues that I could read and then pass on to you.
Barnes and Noble has changed. I noticed that the usual rows of beautiful wooden shelves were nearly bare. Many of the books were facing cover out, as opposed to binding out, just to take up space. It appears that many shelves now hold home school curriculum and toys. Back in the late 80’s when I worked as a community business development manager at a B&N in Lewisville, TX, I loved going through the rows of shelves to see what just arrived. At that time, the shelves held so many books that there was little room to face a book cover out. I often went home with a stack of books I’d purchased because I couldn’t select just one or two.
These days most people buy books online or download them to their digital readers. Lately, with my income being on the low side, compared to when I worked full-time, I either buy them online or check out the book from the local library. However, I have already read all the local library’s books on retirement. So there I was, looking through rows of nearly empty shelves at B&N trying to find books on retirement.
As I was browsing, I was stopped by a book which was faced cover out right at my eye-level. It was called Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely by Lysa TerKeurst. I was familiar with Lysa from her daily uplifting message on K-LOVE radio and Proverbs 31 Ministry. 
I picked up the paperback book and read the back: “Rejection steals the best of who I am by reinforcing the worst of what’s been said to me. The enemy wants us to feel rejected…left out, lonely, and less than.” Wow! I needed this book as I have dealt with rejection my entire life and haven’t handled it well.
I didn’t buy the book that day as it was $16.99. I thought maybe I could get it at the library. Nope. They didn’t have it. I went to the Proverbs 31 Ministry website where it was on sale for $13.99. A quick check on Amazon–I could get it for $10.01, so I ordered it and received it two days later without paying more than the standard shipping costs.
I began reading Uninvited yesterday. Yep, this is what I need to deal with my past and recent feelings of rejection from my immediate family, my ex-husband and recent relationships including some former work colleagues.
Today, I went back to the Proverbs 31 Ministry website and discovered an online Bible study. It had started last week but it wasn’t too late. I joined! Now I will read the book and follow the online group to go deeper into God’s word and how to begin to conquer my feelings of rejection. How great is that? And for only $10!
If you also suffer from feelings of rejection, either from the past or present, you might want to get a copy of the book and join the free online Bible study. The first three chapters of the book are free to download from the Proverbs 31 Ministry website. Let me know if you join the online group and what you think of Uninvited.
Again, from the back of the book: “Uninvited reminds us we are destined for a love that can never be diminished, tarnished, shaken, or taken–a love that does not reject or uninvite.” If you enjoy reading and would like to read one which will help you grow stronger and feel loved, then I urge you to pick up this book and “live loved!”
If you’re wondering if I ever found the retirement books at B&N…yes, I did. They had several but they all dealt with financial issues which I already had a lot of information on. So I drove to a nearby town’s public library, updated my card and picked up a stack of books about retirement there. Oh, how I love library cards!