Wow, what a great book! It doesn't take long to read it, either, because it's more like a short story or a little novelette. I read it in a few hours over the course of 2 days and sometimes I just couldn't put it down. It was a little unnerving in the beginning because the author, Mitch Albom, kept putting little subtitles: 60 minutes of life left, 30 minutes, 10, and etc. It was a little jarring to be reminded so in-my-face that the main character, Eddie, was going to die and very soon.
Scary idea, dying -- or else, it used to be. I bought this book from a club last year or maybe the year before. I'm not sure which. I didn't read it right away because I knew it was going to be about the after life and heaven and I guess I just had to be in the right frame of mind for that. In the last year, I've been able to read books about widows and widowers and the aftermath of their loss.
This isn't like that, exactly, although Eddie did lose his beloved wife at a young age.
All our lives, things happen and more times than not it's things we don't understand. Why did Rich have Marfan and then cardiomyopathy? Why did Audrey get primary pulmonary hypertension? Why, after all the other bad things that happened, did they die when they did?
Why did TB's rotator cuff tear again after 2 surgeries so that he'd need a third one? Why is Linda the way she is? Why, why, why?
In the book, Eddie dies and goes to heaven and there he meets five people who explain different things to him and teach him some very valuable lessons. The last person he meets is supposed to tell him what it's all been about, what it's been for. He meets up with his wife again (I'm not saying which of the five she is) and one thing that I really enjoyed about this book is that time is meaningless here so he could have been talking to her for centuries of our time. It's a comforting thought, isn't it? To see loved ones and be able to talk with them about everything?
One person's actions (even a stranger's) has a ripple effect that can affect so many others. That is something we don't sit down and really consider but it's the theme throughout the book. This is what it said to me: everyone's life has value and everyone has a purpose. So many lives overlap every day millions of different ways. It makes you think.
I'm sure everyone's gotten the 'people come into your lifetime for a reason, season or lifetime' email. Reading the book was like reading that email which goes like this:
People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. When you figure out which it is, you will know exactly what to do.Some people come into our lives and quickly go..
Some people become friends and stay awhile...
leaving beautiful footprints on our hearts...
and we are never quite the same
because we have made a good friend!!!
When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrong doing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on.
When people come into your life for a SEASON, it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season.
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person or people involved; and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships, and areas of your life.
The book made me think but it wasn't painful. It was a joy to read the book and the thinking was more like an aha!
I would highly recommend reading this book at least once.
This, and a day...::
Onesome: This--is the one thing you need to get finished today! What would that be?
I need to go out and buy something for dinner; everything else is in the freezer!
Twosome: and a-- project you'd like to get started on this weekend would be?
TB and I are going to start working on a budget
Threesome: Day--Scenario: tomorrow is suddenly 'your day'--school is out, the kids are covered; you're shift is handled at work; you have no obligations! ...and you have gas and spending money. What are you going to do with your time?
If it's a beautiful day, I'm going to the beach! I'll walk on the boardwalk for a while, window shop, and then go sit on the beach and read. If it's not such a nice day, I'll go to Borders and then to the movies!
Posted by Cassie at May 5, 2005 09:48 AM