love does a book review.

Recently I read an article in “Relevent Magazine” that pointed me to an author.  My thought was “Wow, even if I don’t end up liking his book, I really like some things about this guy.”  As it turns out, his book is pretty great too.  He’s written “Love Does – Discover a Secretly Incredible Life in an Ordinary World.”  I took the book with me as “light reading” on a trip to Atlanta last month.  It ended up being the perfect companion to traveling the midwest on a “Megabus” (that’s another post all in itself – imagine the smell of urine, awesome people from Africa, a home-land security drug-bust, and the smell of pot at 1am).  It was filled with great reminders of this mysterious element he calls “whimsy” throughout his book.

I’ll admit, many of his stories left me thinking, “Yeah, but what would that kind of love look like without that kind of money?”  But the foundations behind many of those stories are infinitely transferrable.  Too often, life gets into a routine of the expected.  Even in the lives of we who actually talk with G-D on a regular basis. (hold on a sec….read that again….we TALK.  with G-D. whimsey enough for you?)  We lose sight of the beautiful, the magical, the whimsical.  We don’t look much beyond what is expected.

But Love does.

His book is full of example after example of how Love looks beyond what has been done already.  Love is compelling.  Love is looking for new ways to be communicated and felt.  Love lives open-palmed, sacrificing itself for others.  Reading this book will make you want to write a love poem for your wife.  It will make you want to do a fancy tea party with your daughters.   It will make you want to talk to the lady that barks (thought it was a sneeze at first….nope…totally a bark….like a small dog.) across the aisle from you on the Megabus as if she’s an infinitely-loved child of God.  Because….she is.

One story in particular came at a great time.  We’ve applied for grants for this adoption.  We’ve gotten denied.  There are a lot of people applying for these grants…and not everyone can get approved.  We’re doing a fundraiser this month, and it seems a difficult season to find people who are able to join us.  It’s a discouraging season.  But we still believe this is the direction we’re called and moving.

In Christian-speak, we say of moments like these, “Perhaps God is closing a door….”  It helps us walk away from potential with dignity.  But Goff talks about moments like these if a different way.  He experienced something similar when applying for law school, and because he believed God had led him that direction – he wouldn’t take “no” for an answer.  You should read the book to get the whole story, but in the end Goff points out that sometimes God allows a door to close, just so he can see us kick it down.

Another cool thing about God using that story to encourage us?  I called Bob Goff to thank him.  I left a message. (His number is probably pretty busy, since it’s published in his book.)  He called me back, and we talked about God moving in my family’s life.  He said, “When I hear about the DRC, I’ll think of Wick.”  I believe he just might, and with all of his work in Uganda – he may hear of the DRC often.

I look forward to calling him back when the door is kicked down completely…:)  (if you wanna help kick it, click here)