Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Heaven's Lessons


Heaven's Lessons by Steve Sjogren

Personal experience is the “proof” of whether we have incorporated biblical principles in our life.  As with many of us, we don’t usually discover who we are until we are pressed into a NDE.  Steve offers this sequel to “The Day I Died” and tells the rest of the story. 

Life’s lessons are sometimes overwhelming and it takes times to process them and make sense of them.  Steve is transparent in his struggle to accept not only the medical mishap, but the poor treatment he received from those who should have loved him deeply.  But processing these difficult times usually draws us closer to God as we are compelled to pray to survive.

Although my circumstances have been different, I can concur with Steve with each of the lessons.  My journey did include some major medical issues, and I spent five weeks in a hospital and about two years recuperation time.  The last lesson he shares is the greatest:  Be Thankful.  Scripture not only teaches us to “give thanks IN everything” (1 Th 5:18) but also to “give thanks FOR everything.” (Eph 5:20)  By human strength alone, that is not possible.  But with God’s great reservoir of grace, we learn not only to accept these afflictions, but to see how God uses them to enrich our lives as well as make us more effective for the kingdom. 

This book is not literary genius, but it is a life story of remarkable grace!