My review of Ginny Yttrup's Invisible - I LOVED IT!

I finished Ginny Yttrup’s Invisible yesterday but I know her words will stay with me for a long time. I simply loved her story. The best stories are the ones where a character’s experience reminds you of your own and you find yourself drawn into the pages, living the story with them.

Ellyn Demoss, one of the novel’s main characters, and I became good friends. Sound crazy? A little. But our God who uses all things to draw us to Him, used Ginny’s Ellyn Demoss to see myself a bit more through God’s eyes.

Invisible tells the story of three women who each are hiding. Through their interaction and friendship with each other, hope is born. Through the truth of seeing that each of them are made in the image of God, healing comes.

This isn’t one of those novels I’ve read that made me laugh and cry or try to solve a mystery. It’s not even a story that simply entertained me. This book changed my heart and made me take time to ask God some questions and listen to His answers. To me, that means this is an EXTRAORDINARY book.

I’ve read Ginny’s other two novels, Words and Lost and Found, and both were wonderful in their own right. But Invisible got under my skin and pointed me to Christ’s healing power that serves as a much needed ointment to those of us who deal with insecurity. We have trouble “seeing” ourselves like God sees us.

I’m in the process of losing a big ole pile of weight. I’m up to 44.5 pounds and continuing. Each day what I will eat or not eat and how I will exercise is forefront in my mind. God knew that we He led me to read Invisible.

In an interview Ginny was asked:  “You said in your letter to your readers that this book is not about weight issues or health issues—it’s about freedom. In moments of stress or pain, how do you choose to walk in freedom rather than in shame?”

I attempt to live in freedom by giving thanks in all circumstances. It seems we have an idealistic view of freedom… It sounds so good, doesn’t it? But freedom is often quite difficult and painful. Think of the Israelites freed from slavery—they had a painful road ahead of them. Were they free? Yes. Did it feel good? No. Or think about dieting… Which is freedom—eating as much chocolate cake as you want? Or disciplining yourself to have just one piece of chocolate cake, or one cookie, so you’re free to enjoy good health and a strong body? Personally, eating as much cake as I want feels like freedom. But it isn’t…

So by giving thanks in all circumstances I’m reminded in those painful times that my turmoil here is temporary. By focusing on God and His goodness, even when my circumstances are screaming the exact opposite, I’m able to live with an eternal view and look ahead to that day when freedom will feel like the freedom I’ve imagined. When I’ll trade this temporal life, filled with trials, for eternity spent in the presence of Jesus Christ. I can’t wait!

I’ve been studying Galatians in an effort to find freedom in this weight loss journey. It is the enemy’s aim to tie me up in bondage to numbers on a scale and nutritional facts and reps at a gym. I haven’t achieved that freedom, or balance, as yet, but reading Invisible helped me a great deal.

If you want a great story, read Invisible. If you want to put yourself in a position to have God feed your soul about the fight with insecurity, read Invisible. If you want to take a step toward freedom and believe that God can do that for you through a novel, then go and read Invisible.

I simply loved this book.