by Glandion Carney with Marjean Brooks
InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Ill. 152 pages
The book is what the title suggests: a description of the way God’s grace unfolded for the author after his diagnosis with Parkinson’s disease. That shattering moment opened for him an experience with God that he never intended, but now shares with others in a lovely manner.
A priest in the Anglican tradition and a spiritual director long associated with the Renovare movement of spiritual formation, Carney confesses to his congregation: “I have Parkinson’s disease. I have been covering up my weakness, and I need to share it openly. I’m trying to accept it as a way of grace. I hope you will pray for me.” Grace is what occurred in his congregation and in his life after that vulnerable moment.
Carney is a spiritual director, and this narrative has the same gentle clarity that one might expect from a director who knows the value of leading rather than forcing. It also reminds one of the simplicity of naming the steps one has taken toward a new life whose compass is aligned to grace. After describing the necessity of acceptance, submission and relinquishment, Carney speaks of the fruit of grace in one’s life. Each chapter concludes with a meditation and application. This is an honest book by an honest man who knows the reality of grace and its transformative power, even in the face of brokenness.
