“No one wants a ministry of weakness.” So many bestsellers focus on being a successful Christian, shiny and perfect: __this part-memoir, part theological exploration of the value of weakness is a healthy dose of biblical truth-telling and a breath of fresh air.__ Alia Joy presents a compelling yet uncomfortable truth: glory and weakness go hand in hand, both in Jesus’ life and ours. She had me at the first chapter: > “We admire pain only if it’s healed, only if it’s endured with perfect grace, with perfect faith, and never succumbed to in weakness, in f-bombs, and rants and curses raised to the heavens.” I kept highlighting other tweetables too: > “It’s easy to say God is good when we’re #blessed.” > “Why would we need a Comforter unless he knew we would be uncomfortable?” > “We’re going to have scars too if we want to look like Jesus.” > “In lament, we acknowledge we are powerless to fix it. The good news is God never asked us to.” > “What if we started to see weakness not only as something to endure, but as our spiritual gift?” Alia Joy talks with authority on suffering, having experienced abuse, poverty, and severe mental illness and she does so with grace and truth. __Her writing is lyrical and poetic,__ with beauty in every sentence, and her storytelling is hypnotic. I found myself underlining line after line to go back and think more deeply. Her work will unsettle the comfortable and provide rich comfort for those who feel weakened or excluded by their suffering. __Beautiful and profound – highly recommended.__