I Will Glory in the Cross
St. Thomas Aquinas once said, “To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To one without faith, no explanation is possible.” It’s the quote that comes to mind when reading I Will Glory in the Cross, a short autobiography and chronicle of personal faith. The book opens in Guyana, South America where Pastor Jean Tracey is one of eleven children born to a gardener and a rice cutter. At the age of five, she has a moment of personal revelation under a star-apple tree. But she doesn’t fully understand what has happened until years later when, married with kids and working in Canada as a housekeeper, Tracey sees an Oral Roberts sermon. Inspired, she commits her life to Jesus and from that moment on, she plots every life decision through God.
As Tracey is a pastor and has a weekly television show, this book was probably written for those in her ministry who want to know a little something more about her and how she developed her faith. Her reaction to many of life’s most difficult choices is always to turn to Jesus first and her description of her love for Him pops up throughout her accounts. When her congregation needs to move to a new facility, for example, she credits finding the building and the money to purchase it to God.
As I Will Glory in the Cross is a slim volume (the book is less than 100 pages), it’s only natural that Tracey’s biography leaves the reader wanting more. For instance, while most chapters are two to three pages, the chapter on Tracey’s ordination is less than a page. At other critical points in her life, Tracey simply relates a situation and what happened. For example, Tracey takes a group of people from her church in Canada to Guyana. When they come back, Tracey describes it as “…all hell broke loose. A few families that went on the trip with me started to leave the church, it was so sad.” The reader wonders what happened and why is it important in the context of Tracey’s life. This and other scenarios could be expanded to provide more detail and context.
Even without this fuller picture, readers of I Will Glory in the Cross will no doubt be amazed by Tracey’s total surrender to her faith in words and deeds— no matter what the circumstances are in her life. It’s sure to be an inspiration to her followers and anyone looking for an uplifting and deeply personal spiritual biography.
Reviewed by
Katerie Prior
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
