There are some things we cannot know
apart from experiencing them. Among them is what it is like to be
seriously chronically ill, or to be the caregiver of one who is. John
and Marilyn Marshall’s book, Priceless Jewel, cracks open
the door to give us an inside look at two lives and a marriage in
which grievous suffering—for decades—was the order of the day.
In addition to the physical pain, the
book explores the spiritual agony of the sufferer wondering why
(“Lord, why are you doing this?”), what (“Lord, what
do you want me to do in the midst of this?”), how long (“Lord,
when will this trial come to an end?”), and the other questions
and doubts that plague a faithful believer when encountering pain
most of us can’t even imagine. As readers, we get to observe how
genuine faith is buttressed by Scripture, loving friends, a faithful
church, and competent, caring members of the medical community.
The major sections of the book are
organized around Paul’s formula in 1 Corinthians 13:13: “But
now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these
is love.” Each chapter contains citations from rich
resources such as Streams in the Desert, Amy Carmichael,
Puritan writers, and other giants of the faith. The Marshalls’
writing is crisp and engaging. While the book belongs in the genre of
personal memoir, it’s truly an excellent theology of suffering set
in the real-world story of a two lovers who had to wrestle with the
consequences of an increasingly confined and painful life.
Much of the book was taken from
Marilyn’s journal. She recorded not just the physical struggles but
the deeper spiritual wrestling matches that occurred as she
experienced serious physical illness without any certain diagnosis.
Her struggles were exacerbated by laymen and sometimes even medical
professionals who advised her that it was “all in her head.” By
the time the primary diagnosis of lupus was nailed down (after
several decades of suffering), she was experiencing a cascade of
concomitant diseases and prescription drug reactions. In her journal
Marilyn gives full voice to her struggles with fear, doubt, anger,
confusion, and the supremacy of faith. John provides us with the
viewpoint of a caregiver who must live caught between the demands of
employment, care of the house, preparing meals, and the intensity and
heartache of ministering to the one he dearly loves even while he
watches her gradually crushed in the slow-motion train-wreck of her
illnesses.
Amid the severe trials she maintained a
steady faith in the goodness and sovereignty of God and was committed
to sharing the joy of Christ with everyone who crossed her path.
Marilyn was a true missionary, not to souls in some dark rain forest
but to white- and blue-gowned professionals in bright, pristine,
antiseptic halls. As the book records, Christ touched dozens of lives
through her witness.
Thankfully, few of us will experience
or even know someone who suffers a situation as extreme as Marilyn
Marshall’s. But most of us do know people doing battle with chronic
illness, either as victim or caregiver. This book will be both a
comfort and a challenge to those who are caught in the grip of God’s
severe mercy. Five stars—highly recommended.
[Full disclosure: I am a friend of the
author.]
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