Monday, January 26, 2009

This Book...

O..O...O.... There is so much I want to say about the book I just read (more like devoured)... I have been trying to construct this blog in my head for many days, and I just keep coming back to the fact that I just will not be able to do it justice. The book in question?




THE SHACK.

It's a book that I had an interest in reading some time ago, forgot about, and then just happened upon it again the other day at Borders. I say 'happened upon' but in my honest opinion, there are no coincidences... I feel more like it was placed directly in my path by God. Shall I elaborate? It was two weeks ago, a blisteringly cold day, and I had taken Jack to Borders (for no other reason than to let him pillage their children's section and get out some pent up energy...) As expected, Jack was playing his usual game of Run-As-Fast-As-I-Can-Away-From-Mom-While-She-Frantically-Tries-To-Keep-Up-And-Pull-As-Many-Books-Off-The-Shelf-As-I-Can-In-The-Process. Fun times.
Anyway... Jack had run to a far corner that I honestly never even go to (sadly, it's the religion section.) and when I had found him, he was peeping at me from behind a floor stand full of one book... The Shack. "Hm", I said to myself, "I forgot about wanting to read that..." But my frugal side (which hardly ever rears it's ugly head) took over, and I knew I couldn't really afford to buy it that day. I hustled Jack to the front, and was about to walk out, and there it was again, right in my face, this book. I decided it should be, grabbed it, bought it, read it, and now.... I sing it's praises!

God knows when we need something... and He knew I needed to read this book.
It's no secret to those who know me best that I have been in somewhat of a "slump" lately. I won't get into the specific reasons why, but one of them is most definitely the loss of my father. It's a sadness that I carry around, which usually surfaces at the most inopportune moments, ie... standing in line at Target, in the middle of eating lunch...etc. And I think I've sort of let myself fall into a rut, spiritually. This book really spoke to me, and I will even go so far as to say it helped to heal a lot in me too. It's not that I found this book to necessarily be astounding, plot-wise. It's just all about the message. A middle-aged man experiences a horrible loss, he doubts his faith, falls into a depression, and then... he gets a letter. The letter is from God, inviting the man to spend a weekend with Him. ...That's where the good stuff begins. Many questions are asked, and the answers are wonderful. It all just rings so true. The God in this book reminds me so much of the God my parents always tried to teach me about. ...and now I feel like I've been reintroduced to Him. I'd love to go on and on about the specific points I found so wonderful, but I feel like it just wouldn't translate. I just want to put my strong recommendations out there for anyone who feels like you need a fresh outlook... read The Shack. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

4 comments:

Lesley said...

I love you. I want to run out and buy this now! I'm sorry you are in a rut, just know that even in your sadness you bring joy to so many people.

Christy said...

Thank you, Lovely.

eitak said...

so can i borrow the book yet?

Mandi said...

That book really challenged my view of God, in a good way. I went away from it, feeling like my relationship with Him had been renewed, in a sense. After growing up with a certain idea of who God is, it was wonderful to have those thoughts challenged and refurnished. It's been a little less than a year since I've read it, but parts of the book still come to mind as I experience various aspects of life. :-)

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