Parallel.....

Ya, have you ever read a biographical book by a particular author, that you know could easily have been written by you??? The author's story line parallels your very own life story. It's like walking the very same path as another, sharing the same footsteps, but at a different time.

Others truths can be our truths.

Others misery can be our misery.

Others life stories can be our stories.

And so we relate and we recall and we nod our heads in agreement as the author tells about his life in parallel to our own. We nod our heads when he talks about mistakes and forgiveness and hurt and all manner of bad decisions. We nod our heads because we too, know great sadness.

And when the author speaks of the "little secrets" we attempt to hide because it would make us look very bad to others if we ever disclosed them.... and how it is difficult to find someone to actually trust enough to share these secrets with for fear of their condemnation....and how freeing it is to be able to disclose those things to another human being.....yes, he says, that is when healing begins to take place. To be able to humble ourselves to the point of beginning again because there is no other place further down in which to start....we begin once more at the bottom......learning to be accountable for our actions and thoughts, learning what humility looks like, learning how not to judge another because of the grace God has shown us.....all of these things we experience in order to make us new again...different people...better people.

And it doesn't stop there. If we are true to ourselves and to God, we continue learning lessons, hard lessons and ones that don't come easily, right on to the end of our days.

I'm enjoying this book, "The Shack", and so are the other six women who are reading it with me and listening to interviews with the author. We will all learn from this book...and some will learn and relate more than others.

It's just how life goes.