The Shack

Hello readers,

I am taking a chance to post about something other than Kate. Although, it does include her. I am sure that many of you have heard of the popular book The Shack by William P. Young. Well, I have just recently read it, and I highly encourage you to as well. My father-in-law, who I highly respect, had advised the family to read this book. He had mentioned that it had impacted him. Zack also has recently read it and thought it would be good for me to read it, too.
Since being a Mom, I have noticed I cannot handle situations like I once could. Meaning, I don't like to watch the news, see scary or dark movies, or read books that have sad stories in them. I remember in college I used to be oblivious to these things. I never really worried about the evil out there. I felt pretty safe in Abilene. As I have become older, I am more and more aware of the evil in this world. I kind of miss the days of not really thinking about these things. The minute Kate was born, I wanted to put a bubble around her to protect her from being hurt and keep her from the evil and cruelty in this world. Zack said to me the other day, "Tami, if you could prevent Kate from experiencing any pain in this world, would you?" Of course there is a part of me that wants to say "Absolutely yes!" Instead I said, "No, because she would miss out on some valuable lessons in life, and she wouldn't fall down on her knees to God in times of hurt or desperation. She will become stronger and gain wisdom from those challenges."
When you read the back of this book, you will see it is about the sadness a father feels when his child is abducted. My heart sank when reading this, I thought there is no way I can read this book! When reading that section of the book, I wanted to put the book down. If I would of done this, I would of missed out on the best part of the story. I won't say too much because I don't want you to miss out on the journey and experience of the book; however, I will say how it has impacted me.
It reminded me that we are all human. Most people that inflict pain on others have a lot of pain in their lives as well. Everybody has their own story of why they are the way that they are. It made me yearn to be with God and have conversations with him about my life. It also reminded me of how important my relationship is with him. The more that I talk to him and pray to him, the more that he will be a part of my daily thoughts and decisions. I do think it is good to be aware of the evil that is in this world so that we can fight against it. However, there is a difference between awareness and being too fearful. We can't allow Satan to get the best of us and put fearful thoughts in our minds which are not realistic or from God. One of my favorite professors from ACU was Willard Tate (no relation, wish there was), and I remember him saying, "It is important to look at the world and think that there is more good in it than bad." That really stuck with me. It is a lot more healthy to try to see the good in people than the bad and to not look at others and judge them.
No matter what your story, whether you are a reader or not, Christian or unbeliever, I encourage you to read this book. It helps you with questions that you have about life and God. I think the author does a great job of showing how God feels about us and loves us. There may be some things that are written that you don't agree with, but there will also be things that give you hope for what is to come. So take some time to read this amazing book! Oh and by the way, don't make the mistake many people have made; this is a fictional book.