Broken works best was originally issued by Monarch. I must say that I picked it up with some trepidation. It arrived during a week that had brought one blow after another that had set me reeling. Was this book going to bring solace or was it preparing me for more to come? In the event, both were true. Right from the beginning, the author caught my attention – she was honest about the questions we often dare not to voice when suffering comes like a bolt out of the blue. ‘What went so terribly wrong here? What happened to Fatherly protection? Why did God not come up with the goods when I needed him?’
It is not long before the author orientates us in the right direction, ‘Suffering, pain and heartache become the magnifying glass that let us see what this life with Jesus is really all about.’ When she gave birth to a disabled child, Catherine Campbell says that she realised that her theology was ‘deeply flawed’. In this book, she sets out to set herself right and the reader benefits. Through true-life stories of people and situations she has encountered, the author walks with us into the world of pain and suffering and seeks to find a biblical perspective on these issues, tracing themes of suffering through the biblical narrative. Some of the chapters close with questions for the reader to use to ponder over Scripture passages. When her daughters, who are both disabled, die, the author considers God’s fairness, and she finds solace in Habakkuk chapter 3. The section of the book on looking after our soul contains wise biblical advice for any Christian. Neither the author nor her preacher husband has wasted their pain – they have taken every gospel opportunity that has come because pain and suffering have opened a door into the lives of others. The book ends with a wonderful focus on heaven.