“This book is not another before and after story.”
Author K. J. Ramsey wants to make sure her readers are well aware of this from the very beginning of her opening invitation. The title of her book turns a common consolation upside down to make it unmistakably clear as well: This Too Shall Last. Rather than gloss over what we want to rush through or hope will pass quickly, Ramsey instead invites us to pause and sit with her in the process of finding grace when suffering lingers.
The middle of an ongoing pandemic seems like a good time to remember that grace is here in the middle of this, too. Or maybe you have other pain, difficulty, or struggles weighing heavy on your heart, mind, and body. Whatever the circumstances, K. J. offers herself as a compelling witness to God’s grace and a kind companion for the journey through her beautiful, compelling book.
“You don’t need another before and after story; you need grace for the middle of the story.”
Ah yes, we surely do.
I finished reading K. J.’s book several weeks ago as part of an independent research project I was working on for my master’s degree, on how we can be formed spiritually through pain, suffering, and grief. And even though I have been sharing some of her insight with my Treasure Hunt Tuesday** friends here and there as well, it keeps pressing on my heart to write something more cohesive about it. I continue to be shaped and formed spiritually through K. J.’s stories and words, and I simultaneously feel compelled to write but also completely at a loss for adequate words. So I hope if any of my feeble attempts to share her encouragement resonates with you, it will inspire you to read the entire book in all its richness for yourself.
K. J. is a precious young woman who has been fighting a chronic illness for more than a decade, and she is also a professional counselor with a seminary degree. The way she beautifully blends theology, neuroscience, and spiritual formation in addition to sharing her personal experiences has touched my heart in a deep way.
One of the themes from the book I especially appreciate is the way K. J. articulates Christ’s embodiment of our humanity and suffering through His incarnation and the hope that it brings us in our pain. The way she puts words around this truth makes it come alive more deeply than I had grasped before. She writes,
Hope is not found in a far-off Jesus but in the God who was willingly born as a baby, learned to walk and talk, frustrated his parents, felt the heat of the sun, and knew the pain of misunderstanding…
Jesus was not just inhabiting a physical body long enough to be killed on a cross, after which he could go back to being Light of Light. He was not God in disguise. He was not acting at being human. We know this, but I’m not sure we believe it in our bones enough to hold it in our hurt.
~ K. J. Ramsey, This Too Shall Last
Her wording throughout that chapter is so rich to drive home the point that in the middle of our everyday lives even in pain and struggle, we can look to Jesus, God in the flesh, to find hope and fellowship in the midst of our brokenness. For the 33 years He walked this earth, Jesus carried every physical limitation and mental and emotional strain that comes with humanity, week by week and year after year. So K. J. asserts,
“The incarnation of Jesus Christ is God’s radical declaration that human bodies matter.”
I am so grateful for this truth.
I also appreciate the way K. J. connects the neuroscience of how our brains are wired with how our whole selves respond when we connect with Christ and with others in the midst of our suffering. As we are vulnerable enough to share our true selves in our most broken places and weakest moments and be received by the body of Christ bearing witness with us, the neural pathways in our brains can gradually be rewired to grasp the love and grace made available to us.
K. J. stresses the importance of having a biblical view of God’s love for us in order for this growth to occur. While suffering can challenge or strip away our trust in God, it can also build it back up. However, she asserts,
“But first suffering kills the god I thought I was worshiping so I can know the God who is actually here.”
Sometimes we realize our view of God has been distorted all along. Maybe we have been living in fear of punishment rather than the fullness of trusting in the God who is love, the Father of all compassion. So K. J. poses this question:
“Will I allow suffering to strip away the angry god I fear but want to love so that I can encounter the God who loves me through my fear?”
As we keep looking to Jesus and His embodiment of our suffering and our salvation, that love becomes more and more clear to bring hope and healing to our hearts.
I also appreciate how K. J. articulates,
“Your present discomfort has to bond with Christ’s past faithfulness to create future hope.”
Recounting the faithfulness of God and remembering where we are in His story are vital for living in this hope He offers us as well.
As much as I have been deeply encouraged by the entire book, the final chapter on repentance seemed to bring everything together to touch my heart the most. I love it when a book can keep building through to the very end, and it seems a rare treasure to find, so this made me especially grateful.
Even K. J. herself admits that at first glance, talking about repentance can seem like a strange way to conclude a discourse on suffering. But I appreciate the way she expands on a broader view of repentance for a Christian, beyond simply turning from sin but also seeing it as a “continuous repositioning” and turning toward God. She emphasizes God’s desire for relationship with us by asking,
“What if everything we assume about repentance creates a sense of guilt and shame because we forget to put repentance in the context of communion with God and the great grace that invites, seeks, and restores us to love?”
Then she goes on to add,
What if I told you that instead of bleeding out with greater guilt than you already have, you could experience repentance as the continuous repositioning that transfuses you with the powerful, redeeming blood of Christ that will sustain you in your suffering and transform you into a person who believes they are loved?
Repentance is turning, again and again, toward God, others, and our lives with our whole bodies, whole stories, and whole selves to live in the better story that we are united to the God who is present and who redeems. Repentance is remembering that all of life is an opportunity for communion and choosing to live as such right now.
~ K. J. Ramsey, This Too Shall Last
This is the word picture I want to keep in the forefront of my mind and heart at all times, even and maybe especially in the midst of suffering, discomfort, and the “messy middle” that may last longer than we would choose. But choosing to turn toward God and others with my whole self and embracing the fellowship of grace found there brings peace and hope in the middle of today. And I am grateful.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about any of these themes as well! Feel free to leave a comment or send me a message anytime to share what is stirring in your heart or if you have any prayer requests.
** You can sign up to receive my “Treasure Hunt Tuesday” emails by filling out the form below. I’d love to keep in touch with you!
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