On Saturday evening, as I sat writing a blog post on the futon in my bedroom, with Alice asleep at my side, Dan sent me a text, which read,
I got you a little Kindle book I thought you might like. Go to your Kindle on your iPhone xxx
So I go check and see the book, ‘Heaven is for Real’.
I type a text back,
Heaven is for real?
He writes,
Read the book and you tell me 😉
I am touched by the surprise gift and also curious,
Okay! Thanks x How did u come across that?
He replies,
It was in the bestsellers and I know you like that kinda stuff xxx
It’s not often that Dan surprises me in this way and I quickly got stuck into one of the most amazing little books I have read.
There have been other books that have touched me deeply, such as ‘The Alchemist‘, ‘Jonathan Livingstone Seagull‘, ‘Conversations with God‘, ‘The Celestine Prophecy & the following series’, ‘Buddhism for Mothers‘, ‘The God of Small Things‘, ‘The Poisonwood Bible‘ as well as ‘The Lord of the Rings‘ trilogy, ‘The Hobbit’, ‘The Chronicles of Narnia‘- to name a few that spring to mind.
Well, ‘Heaven is for Real‘, really did touch me immensely.
The story is is from a boy who lost consciousness in an operation and found himself in Heaven looking down on his parents, sitting with Jesus and meeting members of his family that he previously knew nothing about – including a sister that his mother had sadly miscarried at two months into her pregnancy.
Whether or not you believe in God, this is a book that just has to be read – because aren’t most people just a little bit curious, or perhaps hopeful, that there is ‘something’ much ‘bigger’ than we can possibly imagine?
As I young girl I believed, unquestionably, in God. My parents were not regular church goers, but my local school was a ‘Church of England’ school and so hymns, christian rituals and celebrations were part of my childhood. I was brought up with great respect for christian values and found prayer to be immensely powerful during the turmoil of growing up. As a family we didn’t pray formerly, or before eating, but my Grandmother’s strong faith and frequent reference to her ‘prayers before bed’ made an impact on me. I truly believed and had no shadow of doubt. I prayed for my family, for help with exams, to one day meet ‘someone’ special and have children. I prayed for guidance and forgiveness. And I gave thanks, often, for being blessed with a loving, caring family.
This dear little book, with a message from a young boy, reminded me very much of that hope that children hold in their hearts. Children have such an innocent, wonder of awe in all that they see and do. Their senses are so alive and responsive, not yet dulled by the passage of time.
A little seed, deep inside me, was reawakened when I read this book. A little flower of excitement unfurled. I wanted to share passages of the book with my own children – and I have. The power of prayer, the power of conscious thought, the act of truly opening one’s heart to make a difference for the plight of another or to find the right path to walk forth on.
