“We live between Eden and Heaven. Sometimes, it’s going to hurt.”
Jim Davis, author of Why Me? (And Why That’s the Wrong Question)

One of the things I enjoy most about blogging is all the reading that goes with the job—particularly when I find a new blogger who has something original and insightful to say. There are a lot of bloggers who are curators of other people’s material, and there are the big-blog guys everybody reads (many of them are a team rather than an individual behind the keyboard), but if you’re willing to look a little deeper you can find some really wonderful voices in the blogosphere.

Jim Davis is one of those voices (others include Dick Woodward, David Work, Walter Bright, Jason Ladd, Sandra Dimas and Maureen Moser, and our own Clarke Morledge).

Jim is a constitutional attorney from Birmingham, Alabama, a Bible study teacher, and a writer—he’s not associated with the Garfield comic strip (penned by another Jim Davis). What I appreciate most about his writing is that he always puts it on a level playing field. Like Clarke, he can see more than one side to an issue, and he keeps his eye on the big picture when others tend to let their emotions slant their thinking.

Jim has a new book, Why Me? (And Why That’s the Wrong Question), just released by Leafwood Publishers and available on Amazon. Jim asked me to review the final draft for his publisher, and I was happy to oblige with this review:

If knowledge is knowing the answers to questions, wisdom is knowing which questions are important and why.  Jim Davis brings a refreshing perspective to the topic of pain and suffering in Why Me? (And Why That’s the Wrong Question).  This book is packed full of wisdom and reality, and the topic is treated honestly—with biblical integrity, and with respect.  We should be preparing ourselves for pain and suffering now because it is inevitable.  Instead of focusing on answers (that only God can give), Jim focuses on the questions.  Readers will appreciate Jim’s voice; he has a gift for applying the Bible to a hurting world in a way that is insightful, comforting, and helpful.  I wholeheartedly recommend this book, both as a group study and for personal discipleship.  In Jim’s words, “We live between Eden and Heaven. Sometimes, it’s going to hurt.”

I told Jim when he asked for the review that I am no expert on pain and suffering.  I’ve been blessed with an exceedingly pain-free life. Exceedingly. But what I didn’t tell him is that the title of his book is an echo from a sad chapter of my family’s otherwise benign history. It was decades ago, but I can still hear my mother’s voice, saying those words (more than once). It was an honest question for her, as it is for so many people, but it was not the right question. This is an honest, insightful, comforting, and helpful book.