March 27, 2012

With the wet weather and sicknesses lingering, this weekend amounted to a lot of down time in pj's and reading books.  I was actually able to finish Wednesdays Were Pretty Normal by Michale Kelley.  It is the story of his son's battle with leukemia and how he beat it, but not before his family had to turn their faith (noun) into faith (action). Real faith is hard.  It's something you have to fight for .  It's something you have to choose.  And you have to fight and choose in the face of evidence rather than with the evidence on your side.  By definition, faith is believing something to be real or true  even though you can't see it." (157)

It hit home for two reasons.  Recently, my husband alluded to the same thought as I contemplated a job change for next year and also because we dealt with my mom's stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis seven years ago. So, I've felt that same sense of drowning in a sea of unknowns that only He could begin to dissolve and bring me to the surface where I could breathe deeply his peace.
Kelley writes, ". . .I realized that faith had never been hard.  It had never been work.  But it surely was now.  But this was a moment when we couldn't just have faith; we had to choose faith.  It had to be as conscious as any other decision; choosing faith was hard. Annoyingly hard. Frustratingly hard." (11)

I've always known we are children of God, but Kelley made me realize that poverty opens the door for us to realize it fully--and it is in our weaknesses and moments of the terrifying unknown that we too are poor--poor in spirit, poor in heart, poor in health and we must choose faith.  This definition of poverty was new for me in concept--but one I know I've felt before nonetheless.

A verse he used that made me reflect on what my own mom's cancer did to our family, our community of friends:  Galatians 6:2: "Carry  one another's burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." It was that reminder to be there and to make yourself available to those facing trying times. I know my mom was blessed by an outpouring of  dinners, and hand-made blankets, and pink hats and ribbons and all were appreciated; however, the physical presence, that text message, that email, card in the mail, surprise visit--all probably mattered so much more. We are the hands and feet of Jesus.  And believing in Him in trying times is hard work:  "This is the work of God--that you believe in the One He has sent. (John 6:29)

And ultimately, Kelley asks the question that is asked by God:  Do you trust me?
"Trust is so important that God will fight us for it." (233)
"As God fights for our faith, we are forced to reckon with our own lack of faith.  We are forced to realize the path of selfishness and self-preservation we have been on. . ." (235)

I liked the way Kelley tied scripture into each chapter as he told the stories of Jacob, Moses, Paul, and others that shed new light on the bible stories I've read as a child but so much more wisdom to be gained now as an adult.  This book brought me back to my mom's days of sickness--what lessons did I learn? What lessons have I learned as a result of my mom and how she dealt with everything?  What lessons did my dad teach me during his journey?  How was my relationship with my husband altered, how am I different as a mom? 

So, although the book was about a little boy who triumphed over his leukemia, it really was more about that journey and the lessons the daddy learned...and  how his faith was rocked and put into action. A lesson for us all.

  I stayed up too late finishing this read.  I always like Piccoult  and she does not disappoint with her skill of masterful storytelling through the points-of-view of multiple characters.  She does this with ease and usually this is what I enjoy most about her novels.  While I liked the overall story line and its complexities with dealing with organ donation and "pulling the plug," I had problems reading about the main character, Luke and his experiences with living with wolves. . .not problems I guess, I just found it a little. . .much.

All in all, though--I enjoyed the story and am so glad I finished it because. . .

comes out today!!  I will have a new book to read on my nightstand by another favorite author.  Only this book is the end of this series, so it will be a sad read knowing that there is nothing more to come: (