Ed told me he had a book for me to read.
What is it? I ask.
The Shack, he said. Everybody at church is reading it. Some like it and others don’t. But I do, so I thought I’d see if you would like to read it.
I really didn’t want to, but I’d ask him to read a few books from my Church and he did, so I thought “turn about is fare play”.
Some time ago I had asked my Priest if he had read a book that I was reading and he told me “No. I always look at the source pages in the back and if there isn’t any that are Orthodox or from one of the Church Fathers, I don’t waist my time”.
I knew I wasn’t going to like the book, but I told Ed I would read it. So the next time he came over he brought it. He said “Don’t forget to read the forward. It sets up the book, so don’t for get to read that part”.
O.K.. I’ll read it. I’m pretty slow reading but I’ll get to it. I told him.
Well, it laid around the house for a week or two and he called and asked how I liked it. I told him I hadn’t start it yet and he sounded a little disappointed. I will. I said, knowing I had to get to it.
So the day came to open the book.
I read the index, then I started on the forward, and it wasn’t long into it that I decided quickly I wasn’t going to like this book. I don’t like this kind of fiction where people get hurt. I guess because I know that too may times it’s not fiction. People do get hurt. It bothers me that kids, especially are the ones hurt. Everyone thinks they’ll get over it and move on, but too many times they don’t get over it and they don’t move on. That type of hurt is there for a long time.
Then at the top of page 10 everything changed.
Willie writes, “You probably wouldn’t notice him in a crowd or feel uncomfortable sitting next to him while he snoozes on the MAX (metro-transit) during his once-a-week trip into town for a sales meeting. He does most of his work from a little home office at his place up on Wildcat Road.”
He What? He lives Where? On Wildcat Road?
I lived on Wildcat Road!
From 5 years old till almost 18, when I went into the Navy, I lived on Wildcat Road?
Sure they are about 3000 miles apart, but that didn’t make any difference, there was the connection.
Now the book meant something to me! I had to read it now!
And so I did.
Most of the time through moist eyes. But I did read it, and enjoyed it, well as much as I could when it was a fiction-religious book. Hummm.
Almost a year later I was in Mickey D’s with a few people from Church, and Scott ask “Didn’t you say you read that book The Shack“?
Yup. Sure did.
What did you think of it? Did you like it?
Ya. It was O.K. for a fiction-religious book. It was a fun read. I like the part in the garden. I didn’t like the part about his daughter though. Did you read it?
Scott said he did and we spent a few minutes discussing it, and then he hit me with “I couldn’t believe how Orthodox it was”!
What? Orthodox? What do you mean?
Then we spent the next two times we were together discussing the possibility that the author knew or had read some of the Church Fathers.
So here we are. We would like to share some of the things that grabbed our attention.
Maybe you would like to leave your ideas also.
Thanks for stopping by and we hope you enjoy your stay.
