"The Shack"

I have been mustering through a book that has been both difficult for me to read and difficult to put down at the same time. I don't know if I have ever had that kind of dichotomy before in something that I have read. But this morning, after waking up for the day at 3:40am (absolutely ridiculous, isn't it???), I had the blessing of finally closing the cover of The Shack. And now I am left with the "huge" task of digesting what I have read....chewing slowly, of course.



The Shack is both disturbing and enlightening. I am bound and uncomfortable with much of what I read, and at the same time I am liberated (one of Faith's vocabulary words for this week. Guess all that studying I have done with her has paid off....for me, that is.) and set free. I wish, in hindsight, that I could have read this book with a few close friends. I would have valued their take on it, and what they found The Shack doing to them. I don't think I would be alone in how it has left me.



I wish that I could encourage you to read it yourself, but by now I have scared you with what I have said. I know that you hear me often go on and on about something I have recently read, or am in the midst of reading. I am sorry about that....I am sure that is annoying. I would like to say I won't let it happen again, but I would be lying I am afraid. I have a friend whom I have been talking with about the book, more than the average person I encounter. (Poor thing!) She and I have the same issues when it comes to reading something that might be a little "out there." I don't think it is an issue of "closed-mindedness," just more of being careful, I guess. She told me that she likes to see who the book is endorsed by, as a safety net of sorts, before she is willing to crack the cover. I find that tendency in myself too. The Shack is endorsed by a handful of people, both recognizable and unrecognizable to me. But if my name carried any value at all, I would endorse it myself, because I think it is that good. If by chance you do pick it up and are willing to dive into something completely different than your standard "religious read", please let me know. I would love to hear about it.