Friday, February 22, 2008

The Great Sadness


some books change me forever
and startle me like a stranger in my living room
who prompts me to gasp then smile
and calmly say "Oh, there you are."
I too have experienced the Great Sadness
which you lifted and turned into joy
not a quick-fix band-aid pull
more like ice melting
drip
by
drip
I can't go back to the calendar
and point to it's departure
all I know is freedom
to take in the stars with You on the dock
to get dirt under my fingernails
while we uproot the garden
for those great talks over pies in the kitchen
but three people I love are now stuck in the ice
of the Great Sadness
and they don't really believe in Your spring
even though they hear it every Sunday
I hold my breath, paralyzed to watch them
like a child drowning in 6 inches of water
or a six year old in a shack with a monster
but only You can rescue, release, and redeem
so I let out my breath
and trust in Your plan
because in the end
the Great Sadness
just doesn't hold water or ice
next to the warmth of Your joy,
Papa


Mack: "I just can't imagine any final outcome that would justify all this."
Papa: "We're not justifying it. We're redeeming it."
William P. Young, The Shack


"Real Christianity does not say love is blind, it says love takes a good long look."
Dr. Bob Laurent, New Community, 2/21/08


"When a woman gives birth, she has a hard time, there's no getting around it. But when the baby is born, there is joy in the birth. This new life in the world wipes out memory of the pain. The sadness you have right now is similar to that pain, but the coming joy is also similar. When I see you again, you'll be full of joy, and it will be a joy no one can rob from you. You'll no longer be so full of questions." John 16:21-23


Other Great lines from The Shack by William P. Young:

"Just remember, you gotta clean what you catch."

"Life takes a bit of time and a lot of relationship."

"Freedom can never be forced."

"When all you can see is your pain, perhaps you lose sight of Me?"

"Living unloved is like clipping a bird's wings and removing it's ability to fly . . . this isn't Sunday school. It's a flying lesson."

"You don't play a game or color a picture with a child to show your superiority. Rather, you choose to limit yourself so as to facilitate and honor the relationship." (referring to Jesus)

"I am not who you think I am, MacKenzie. I don't need to punish people for sin. Sin is it's own punishment, devouring you from the inside. It's not my purpose to punish it; it's my joy to cure it . . . I will use every choice you make for the ultimate good and the most loving outcome."

"Rights are where survivors go, so they won't have to work out relationships."

" . . . your independence with its quest for power and fulfillment actually destroys the relationship your heart longs for."

"Love is just the skin of knowing."

"Some folks try with all kinds of coping mechanisms and mental games. But the monsters are still there, just waiting for the chance to come out."

"As well-intentioned as it might be, you know that religious machinery can chew up people."

" . . . out of what seems to be a huge mess, Papa weaves a magnificent tapestry."

"You don't have to have it all figured out. Just be with me."

"Relax, Mack; this is not a test. It's a conversation."

4 comments:

Sherry Ingle said...

I loved: "There are many folks like you, Mackenzie, who end up locking themselves into a very small place with a monster that will ultimately betray them, that will not fill or deliver what they thought it would. Imprisoned with such a terror, they once again have the opportunity to return to me. The very treasure they trusted in will become their undoing". Kinda reminds me of what Rob was telling us this past weekend!

Dan Vukmirovich said...

Glad you're finding this helpful. Looking forward to getting fully through myself so we can talk on the same level about it.

Anonymous said...

The Shack impacted my life tremendously. I continue to have it on my nightstand and frequently read a few pages to get additional "aha" moments. I plan on reading at least once a year until its impact is fully felt by me.

Gene Ort said...

The "Shack" changed the way I think about God, Jesus and The Holy Spirit. I have noticed it in several ways... When reading the Gospel of John this holy week, I was aware of Jesus in a different way. It is easier to see Jesus in a more compassionate light. Less religious. It may be the highest compliment I can make about a book is that it brings me closer to the truth about who God really is, and how much He really does love us.
Gene Ort