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."