Beyond the Shallow: How Suffering Led Me to the Deep End of Grace

Book excerpt: See the lavish grace of Jesus's love for you... As Christians, we commonly portray grace as something that comes to us in the form of a paycheck and healthy bodies. By wading into the deep end of suffering, I have learned that God's grace is much more evident in the mire and dung of life. Amid deep pain and suffering, I found myself at the grace-filled cross where his glory is revealed in the unseen as I struggle with what is transient. Michelle grew up in church and believed in what she calls Christian karma: Do good, get good. She adopted this unspoken mantra during her teen and young adult years and even into her early married life. But when suffering came to her door, she returned to the Scripture to learn the truth of the gospel. She learned to see grace through the loss of expectation and the loss of three of her six children. As you read this book, Michelle's hope is that you will see the lavish grace of Jesus's love for you, and-if you are walking through immense suffering-that you will understand Jesus is most certainly enough.