Mitch Albom has written some books that have been much loved for the reason that people don’t like to say “good bye” and there desire for peace of mind in knowing that when we leave this place, we go to a much better place. While I have not read “Tuesday’s with Morrie”, I just finished “For One More Day” and “The Five People You Meet in Heaven”. I’m not sure how biblically based his stories are, but his books are easy to read and probably give many people hope of a better place someday. I wish they were more evangelical and would express that Heaven is for everyone who believes in Jesus Christ as the son of God and that His death on the cross washed all of our sins away…….but he doesn’t. He seems to portray the watered down view of Heaven as being a place for anyone who was a good person regardless of their beliefs. While this is nice, it could be detrimental to your eternal soul.
For One More Day deals with a man who has lead an amazing life despite a tough childhood, but his life climaxes early with a game in the World Series, from there his life slides down hill at a consistent speed. His attempt at suicide, allows him to spend “one more day” with his deceased mother and she explains many things but most of all she reveals just how much she loved him. One of my favorite excerpts from the book is when the main characters mother is telling him that she was wishing for a child after 3 years of not getting pregnant and how one night, when she couldn’t sleep, she carved “Please” into a tree.
I leaned in. The word PLEASE had been carved into the side. Small crooked letters. You had to look carefully, but there it was. PLEASE.
“You and Roberta weren’t the only ones who carved,” she said, smiling.
“What is it?”
“A prayer.”
“For a child?”
She nodded.
“For me?”
Another nod.
“On a tree?”
“Tree’s spend all day looking up at God.”
Beautifully said! I think that we have all lost someone that we dearly loved and just want one more day to spend with them. One more day to tell them everything you may have not gotten a chance to say or perhaps something you just want to repeat with more love and conviction. And perhaps to hear them say that your relationship was great just the way it was and how much you meant to them. I know that many of the people I’ve lost have gone on to Heaven and that where they are now is so much better than being back here and that it is only my selfishness that would bring them back to this world (something I really don’t want for any of them) but if I could have one more day with someone I miss, it would be Erica and we would spend the day shopping and talking and laughing about old times……….
The Five People You Meet in Heaven introduces you to Eddie as he lives out his last hour of life on this earth and then journeys to his first moments in Heaven and the 5 people who had a great impact in his life on earth.
Out of the five people, some are obvious and others are not. Some are people that did indeed affect his life but he never even knew or wasn’t aware of how their lives had intersected. Some needed to seek Eddie’s forgiveness. But all were there to teach Eddie about something of his life on earth and how were all interconnected in someway.
One of my favorite lines in the book comes from his first person who says,
“No life is a waste,” the Blue Man said. “The only time we waste is the time we spend thinking we are alone.”
It was interesting to think as I read this about how many people have I influenced enough to impact their lives and who have influenced mine. In what ways have we changed others lives and what do we need to forgive or seek forgiveness for. As a Christian I believe that God oversees our lives and does bring certain people into our lives for various reasons. And even when we make bad choices I believe that God can turn it around, either here on earth or someday in Heaven.
