Aching Joy

When His first son was born, Jason Hague had glowing expectations of fatherhood. But when the boy regressed into the distant, wordless world of autism, those hopes were crushed.

As Jason walked through the barren land of unanswered prayer, he discovered that he was not alone - so many in the church today are overwhelmed with pain and doubt. We think our faith is supposed to guarantee a sense of emotional stability, even in the midst of soul-crushing circumstances. But by avoiding the brokenness inside ourselves, we end up missing the beauty of God at work deep within us. When we open our hearts to the restoration that only Christ can perform, we will begin to find a deeper gladness that has no veneer and wears no mask. We will find a joy in the midst of aching.

Aching Joy is an honest psalm of hope for those walking between pain and promise: the aching of a broken world and the beauty of a loving God. In this place, rather than trying to dodge the pain, we choose to feel it all—and to see where Jesus is in the midst of struggle. And because we make that choice, we feel all the good that comes with it, too.

This is Jason’s story. This is your story. Come, find your joy within the aching.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Our Precious Propaganda
A Gathering Storm
Psalms of Lament
The Forgetting Place
Planting a Garden
It's Not All Rubble
The In-Between Country
The Penguin Incident
"I Am with You"
To Give Him a Superpower
Slaying Cynicism
Digging Up the Shallow Grave
The Way of Aching Joy

A Note to the Autism Community