book review

"I wondered if that was how forgiveness budded, not with the fanfare of epiphany, but with pain gathering its things, packing up, and slipping away unannounced in the middle of the night."

The quote is from a novel I finished last night, The Kite Runner. I read it in two days (I say that simply to let you know it was so good that I couldn't put it down). If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend you do. Not since The Chosen, which is my favorite book, have I been so moved. The book focuses on a variety of themes including father/son relationships, friendship, loyalty, humility, guilt, forgiveness and redemption.

The quote above caused me to pause as I read this story. I think hearing about forgiveness is interesting. In church, we learn how we should forgive others because God forgave us. We also are taught to forgive ourselves because Christ died for our sins and redeemed us; however, for me, it isn't that easy. I relate more to the above quote - slowly, with time, without me knowing, forgiveness comes. If that isn't the right way to forgive, then God, I'm sorry. But that's how it works for me. I live with a lot of guilt. Joe Beam would call me a "guilt-caged Christian." But sometimes it is that guilt that is my one connection with God when I feel so far away from him. It is guilt that lets me know that there is a part of me that is still His. If guilt wasn't there...who knows.

The book is difficult to read because of some violence in the story. However, if you want to read good prose, learn some about a different culture, and be reminded of the dual nature of humans, get yourself a copy.

Thanks for reading.

Turning 31

I will turn 31 in nine days. It doesn't seem that long ago that I was blogging about turning 30. This past year has been pretty good. I think the best thing that happened to me was that I became an uncle. I can't tell you how much my little nephew means to me. He's so great - even when he does grab my glasses. So, it's around this time that a lot of men begin a journey of self-reflection and begin to tally their accomplishments up to this point in their lives - I actually have been tallying since around 23 or so. No, my life has not turned out how I thought it would. If you had asked me at ACU what I would be doing at age 30, my answer would not have even alluded to working in a middle school or working in a mental health profession. It's funny how things work out sometimes. For the most part, I'm happy. I think I need a hobby, though. So maybe that's one thing I can foster in this next year of my life. Any suggestions...all would be appreciated.

Thanks for reading.