Scan barcode
A review by lingfish7
This Too Shall Last: Finding Grace When Suffering Lingers by K.J. Ramsey
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up. I wish I could give this 5 stars for how many times it made me tear up, touched that special place in my soul, or softened my heart towards God and the church, but I have to knock off a star due to the long & windy road of prose a very long middle of the book. The first four chapters were good and meaningful; slow but good. I got lost and bored somewhere in chapters 5-8 and I can tell you I still think that section could have been condensed to just one chapter.
I'm a poet who loves me some prose, but I think the organization was off-key in chapters 5-8. I didn't really know where Ramsey was taking me or for what purpose? It kind of felt like each paragraph was it's own thesis so I didn't know where I was in the journey. It was painful to read each page of the middle of the book. Not because it wasn't good, but that there was no clear unity to the chapters so it felt like I had to process a separate thing each paragraph. Honestly if chapters 5-8 were written in poetry form I think I would have followed better (and I think they could have been modified slightly and reduced to be converted from the prosy paragraphs to stanzas in poems).
The book really picked back up in chapter 9 and had a solid conclusion on chapter 10. In fact, chapter 9 impacted me most because it's about communion within the body of believers. I actually think this chapter was the most essayistic in the book, making clear arguments (my favorite part of non-fiction) for the need to create space for suffering and lament in the church. I really liked her thought provoking questions like this one in that section: "Are we moving one another toward a kingdom of consumeristic self-sufficiency or the kingdom of communion?" (pg. 192)
Overall, I had to round up to 4 stars because of the emotional and mental impact this book had on me. It forced me to wrestle with my doubts of God when I'm in suffering or my distrust of the church lately. It helped me to see that in suffering there is hope and the need for repentance of our idol of self-sufficiency or our tendency to pray away the pain instead of just meeting Christ within it. This book really touched a nerve in my heart whenever she talked about relationships and being hurt by others. It was a good follow-up to some of the counseling sessions I've had (and she is a trained counselor so that makes sense). I really appreciate KJ for taking the time out of her lifelong suffering to write such a meaningful and profound book (it just might have taken a little bit of perseverance for me to get through the middle chapters!).
Just one more good quote to close out this review!
"I wonder what our lives would look like if the church intentionally made room for suffering. I'm curious about how much more hope we could hold if worship services included half as much time for lament as they do for praise. I wonder how much encouragement we might all be missing by treating each other's ongoing suffering like an awkward subject to avoid rather than a normal experience to share. I wonder how much less anguish we would experience in suffering if the church treated suffering like a story to tell rather than a secret to keep until it passes." (pg. 189)
I'm a poet who loves me some prose, but I think the organization was off-key in chapters 5-8. I didn't really know where Ramsey was taking me or for what purpose? It kind of felt like each paragraph was it's own thesis so I didn't know where I was in the journey. It was painful to read each page of the middle of the book. Not because it wasn't good, but that there was no clear unity to the chapters so it felt like I had to process a separate thing each paragraph. Honestly if chapters 5-8 were written in poetry form I think I would have followed better (and I think they could have been modified slightly and reduced to be converted from the prosy paragraphs to stanzas in poems).
The book really picked back up in chapter 9 and had a solid conclusion on chapter 10. In fact, chapter 9 impacted me most because it's about communion within the body of believers. I actually think this chapter was the most essayistic in the book, making clear arguments (my favorite part of non-fiction) for the need to create space for suffering and lament in the church. I really liked her thought provoking questions like this one in that section: "Are we moving one another toward a kingdom of consumeristic self-sufficiency or the kingdom of communion?" (pg. 192)
Overall, I had to round up to 4 stars because of the emotional and mental impact this book had on me. It forced me to wrestle with my doubts of God when I'm in suffering or my distrust of the church lately. It helped me to see that in suffering there is hope and the need for repentance of our idol of self-sufficiency or our tendency to pray away the pain instead of just meeting Christ within it. This book really touched a nerve in my heart whenever she talked about relationships and being hurt by others. It was a good follow-up to some of the counseling sessions I've had (and she is a trained counselor so that makes sense). I really appreciate KJ for taking the time out of her lifelong suffering to write such a meaningful and profound book (it just might have taken a little bit of perseverance for me to get through the middle chapters!).
Just one more good quote to close out this review!
"I wonder what our lives would look like if the church intentionally made room for suffering. I'm curious about how much more hope we could hold if worship services included half as much time for lament as they do for praise. I wonder how much encouragement we might all be missing by treating each other's ongoing suffering like an awkward subject to avoid rather than a normal experience to share. I wonder how much less anguish we would experience in suffering if the church treated suffering like a story to tell rather than a secret to keep until it passes." (pg. 189)