Saturday, March 19, 2011

Package

When I arrived home on Thursday evening, I was surprised to see a package sitting on my counter.  I had not ordered anything.  And this package was for me. 

I opened it with childlike anticipation ripping the box apart to uncover its contents.  It was a box of about 5 books sent from Renee--my Dad's wife.  Renee and I usually discuss what books we've read and have passed some back and forth over the past year.  One of the books in this shipment really caught my attention.  90 Minutes in Heaven.  I could only assume by the initial look at the cover that it was a fictional book similar to those written by Mitch Albom.  I was wrong. 

When I flipped the book over to get the brief synopsis of the story, I was intrigued to see that this was a non-fiction piece.  This was, in fact, a person's first hand account of his experience in Heaven due to a near-death experience.  What started as general curiosity turned into me becoming completely enveloped in this absolutely amazing story.  I reluctantly went to bed at 12:30am.  I cannot tell you the last time I stayed up this late.  Maybe New Years Eve.

Immediately after I grabbed my coffee this morning, I hunkered down in the chair to finish the story.  Yep, that's right...finishing the book in less than 2 days.  And, it was not Dr. Seuss or Junie B. Jones or Diary of a Wimpy Kid.  It was a real, live, grown-up book!

What an amazing story it was.  ...it was something that I needed to read.  But, I didn't know I needed it until after I finished the book. 

As I have stated before, there have been a couple of events that have profoundly effected my outlook on life.  One of them being the sickness and eventual death of my Granddad.  This story that Renee sent me, that she knew I needed to read, really reinforced that for me. 

It's great to be the recipient of unexpected packages.  Especially when the contents have such a great impact.

No comments:

Post a Comment