The front cover picture on Nevertheless: finding hope in suffering is what I see every day in my office. A small bowl full of smooth black stones. A dear friend of mine, who’s an artist, made the bowl years ago. She was preparing to throw the bowl away because even though it’s lovely, it leaks.* Thankfully, she let me have it because I love its shape, colors, and it reminds me of my friend’s true compassion and care for me and others in honor of her sister who suffered for years with pain, grief, and loss.
On that note, as you read through Nevertheless: finding hope in suffering, you’ll find explanations for why I chose to put smooth black stones in the bowl. Small smooth black stones will represent different things throughout this book. Primarily these stones will be tangible reminders of the pain, grief, and loss from whatever type of suffering we live with every day.
Like those small stones in my bowl, this book is a compilation of Scripture and stories, truths and testimonies, promises and ponderings all put here in black-and-white to point you and me both to Jesus. Only Jesus is the One Who will never turn away and truly understand the deepest parts of our pain and our longings for relief.
With that in mind, you’ll see a bunch of different versions of Scripture used throughout this book. I’ve chosen to use these versions to highlight different ideas in the verses which might be overlooked in using only one version. I’ve experienced many times that even a different phrasing or word choice can open up a brand new idea chock-full of encouragement from a verse that is as familiar to me as the freckles on the back of my hand. And I surely hope the same might happen with you, too!
Please take the time you need to re-read, think deeper, and absorb truth from this book (and also for the videos, if you’re doing or planning on those, too). Finishing the book is not the goal, sitting at Jesus’ feet is. Learning requires effort and time, be it in school for science or in life for faith and trusting obedience. And these classes in suffering are far harder for me than even the hardest ones I had in grad school . . .
Please, hear me when I say, I’ve been praying for you to receive comfort and courage as you read this book. Please know I deeply want what you read here to be encouragement for you deep down in the soil of your soul. There’s no expectations or pressure to finish the book or even a full chapter of the book. There’s only the knowing and understanding that only God can, does, and will provide everything, for every need, for every day, and for every person, here in suffering.
We are never alone.
God made us. God stays with us.
There’s always hope because there’s always Jesus.
Gratefully,
Beth
*Using a leaky but beautiful bowl to hold the dark smooth stones is especially appropriate to me. God sees the beauty in each of us even if we want to be ignored or feel discarded because we can’t do what others (or ourselves) expect of us. For here in our suffering and brokenness, we are those jars of clay God wants to use in carrying the treasure of Jesus to others (see 2 Corinthians 4:7).
If a friend or family member or someone else has to come to mind while reading this excerpt, please stop and see if God might want you to share this post and/or this book with them so they can be encouraged in their struggles in suffering to find the true, lasting, unbroken hope we have in our Jesus as Christ-followers.
In case you missed part-1 of this excerpt, here’s the link for it:
written by and copyrighted to Beth Madison, Ph.D., 2026.
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