The Heavy Art of Joy

"The Western church has taken our Lord away, and we don't know where they have put Him. Like Mary, we weep outside the tomb, and when the real Jesus appears to us, we fail to recognize Him. We think He is the gardener, because He isn't afraid of our dirt." As a person burdened with mental illness, do you feel like the church has failed you? Have you or someone you love been shamed by Christians for your emotional pain? Having fought severe anxiety and depression for years, Nancy Zarzar began to question the benevolence and love of the God she had inherited from church tradition. However, she could not tear herself away from the broken, self-sacrificial persona of Jesus, who haunted her heart. In the very crucible of her torment, God began to reveal Himself as the Divine Lover, who gently schooled her in the "heavy art" of a relentless joy.