The Shack

I just finished a book recently called 'The Shack.' Although unaware, I quickly discovered (from several friends) that 'The Shack' was to be the 'up and coming' novel......truly, I'd never heard of the thing, but thought I'd give it a shot anyhow. And I would have to say that, much to my dismay, I had trouble putting the book down. Beyond the cheesy 'christian-ese' statements that can be found within this book, there were also some very truthful 'nuggets' that left me feeling truly loved and sought after by God. The basic plot of the novel (not so 'pretty' sounding here): A man's daughter is kidnapped and then murdered in a shack and years after the incident, the man receives a note from God telling him to come back to the shack for some unknown reason. Generally, the 'nuggets' are intended to be God's words to this man. So, without further rambling, here are some of the bits that I liked:

"Living unloved is like clipping a bird's wings and removing it's ability to fly. And, if left unresolved for very long, you can almost forget that you were ever created to fly in the first place."

"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 heal it."

"Trust is the fruit of a relationship in which you know you are loved. Because you do not know that I love you, you cannot trust me."

"You have to take the time to prepare the soil if you want it to embrace the seed."

"Have you ever tried to save someone who is drowning? It's extremely hard to rescue someone unless they are willing to trust you.....that's all I ask of you. When you start to sink, let me rescue you."

"Don't ever discount the wonder of your tears. They can be healing waters and a stream of joy. Sometimes they are the best words the heart can speak."