Friday, June 20, 2003
The Waiting Child
by Cindy Champnella
This book is all about the love of a "mother" for her child. I know, I know. I really need to see my doctor about falling testosterone levels. But I have an excuse. My wife was the one who got this from the library and I had to read it right away before she took it back. Why bother? Well, it's an intriguing tale. It's the story of a little girl, now named Jaclyn, who was adopted from an orphanage in China and essentially nagged her family to go back and adopt the younger boy whom she "mothered" there. The fact that her aunt and uncle were able to manage to adopt the little fella is something of a miracle, but the really amazing thing about this story is Jaclyn's love for the boy she called "Xiao Mei Mei". (I won't translate that lest I spoil the surprise, but you Chinese speakers are probably scratching your heads) That four year old girl had a devotion and sense of justice that puts a lot of us adults to shame. It also moved a number adults to help out a little boy who needed a family. I pray that those qualities continue to grow in Jaclyn as she grows up. Anyway, this is a compelling story that is definitely worth checking out, even for you macho men out there. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go read some Conan the Barbarian or something...
Labels: CheckItOut
Thursday, June 05, 2003
Girl Meets God
by Lauren F. Winner
This, I think, is the literary equivalent of a chick-flick. It was supposed to be a conversion story of this girl who became first an Orthodox Jew and then a Christian. Or at least that's the impression I got from the flyer they gave me at Harvest Logos. But instead I got... well, okay, it is a conversion story... sort of. Okay, not sort of. It is. But it's not a nice, straightforward narrative. No nice, simple tale of a victorious spiritual pilgrimage here. I mean, the spiritual journey is there, but you've got to dig it out. "Out of what?" you may ask. Well, here's the chick thing: Ms. Winner has filled this whole book with relationships! Relationships with boyfriends. Relationships with girlfriends. (Women will understand that distinction. Guys, get your minds out of the gutter.) Relationships with parents. Relationships with pastors and rabbis and friends and classmates and church members. And mixed up in the whole tangled tapestry of her life is a relationship with God. And even that is fraught with sin and struggle. Of course, that's not the worst of it. The worst thing is that I liked it. Even though I was raised in the faith I now embrace, I felt a definite kinship with Ms. Winner. I too, want a deeper relationship with the God who became a human being to save me. And I too end up falling far short of the most simple faithfulness. I grew to enjoy the way she wove together her relationship with Jesus with the everyday things in her life--holidays, customs, personal possessions and, most of all, her relationships with others. To be honest, I even got a bit envious of the way she could see all this in her life and so beautifully express it. She can dwell lovingly on the story of Ruth. Me, I'll turn to the books of Kings and dig Elijah calling down fire from heaven or Elisha playing practical jokes on Aramean soldiers.... Hmmmm, I guess God wrote the Bible for guys, too. Oh, well. As far as Girl Meets God goes, I recommend that you check it out. I'm even half tempted to buy it.
Labels: CheckItOut
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
