#wallylamb

[sleepsailor]

“I am not a smart man, particularly, but one day, at long last, I stumbled from the dark woods of my own, and my family's, and my country's past, holding in my hands these truths: that love grows from forgiveness; that from destruction comes renovation; that the evidence of God exists in our connections to one another. This much, at least, I've figured out. I know this much is true.” --- I Know This Much is True (2020)

[neremite-blog]

Death As Prerequisite

A book on my Top 5 list is Wally Lamb’s I Know This Much Is True. Twins - one is schizophrenic and has a break from reality and good sense. The other twin fears the same could happen to him. Enter Dr. Patel, the psychiatrist in charge of the case. She gives the second twin a totem, a statue of Shiva, a god commonly associated with Death. Umm, thanks? She explains that all things must come to an end in order for new things to come. Out of death comes life. She was a very powerful character.

Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.”

Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn’t grow into a plant unless it dies first.”

This doesn’t apply to just a single moment of salvation, that moment some experience of coming to faith. That is one turning point, the first in our walk with God. There will be many more such moments. Catastrophes or tragedies or crises - things that set up a dichotomy known as before and after. Clint Eastwood’s movie Hereafter illustrates this so well. It follows the story of 3 separate characters: an American who can communicate with the deceased; an English boy whose twin brother is killed in an accident; a French woman caught in a tsunami and actually dies until she is then revived. Each one is contending with Death, struggling to find Life again. Each one defining their life as before the event and after the event. They almost despair. And no one in their life can understand what they are going through. They are pushed by their experience to seek higher meaning. Does their life have a purpose? Why them? Why did they survive when others did not? Why are they here? People can’t understand asking these questions; it seems pointless to ask such things, futile. Life is what it is, the people say - eat, drink, and be merry, nothing more. But these characters have stared Death in the eyes, soul gazed with it, and it shook them to their core. They are forever changed.

How many times will there be a before and an after in our lives. It could be a sudden turn of events, out of left field. Or it could be a slow drifting, swimming in a riptide, until you find yourself completely out to sea and helpless to make it back to shore. Either way, we find ourselves face to face with Death and loss. It is in those moments that we must trust that Life can come out of that death. That all beginnings spring first from an ending. Whether it is a death outside of ourselves or a death within us, a letting go of what we cling to so fiercely, choose to believe that Life will spring forth. Mount St. Helen erupted, decimating the land all around it. Yet just so much as a year later flowers and grass and trees and wildlife were making a comeback, blossoming out of the ashes into new life. Life cannot be suppressed. It will push and press and bloom. It is a cornerstone of Christian belief - what is termed Resurrection, the ultimate triumphing of Life, defeating Death itself. Cheating the grave. Life everlasting. Easy to believe when everything is going well, the blessings pouring in, harder to trust in when life is falling apart and seems dismal and unmanageable. Life finds a way. Even through depression and hopelessness. Life finds a way. Death is a springboard for Life. Choose to believe it.

[motivationalquoteoftheday]

Motivational Quote of the day for Tuesday, October 20, 2020

[almasgeeks]

View this post on Instagram

#IKnowThisMuchIsTrue, nueva miniserie, estrena hoy en #HBOLAT y #HBOGOLA Protagonizada por @MarkRuffalo, basada en la obra de #WallyLamb, adaptada y dirigida por #DerekCianfrance. @hbolatam . . . . #iktmit #hbo #hbolatinoamerica #hbooriginal #melissaleo #rosieodonnell #kathrynhahn #archiepanjabi #juliettelewis #series #serietv #showtv #tvshow #serie #panamá #panama #pty #507 #panama🇵🇦 #panama507 #instapanama #panamazing #panamagram #geek #almasgeeks (en Panama City, Panama) https://www.instagram.com/p/CABDLmDnix4/?igshid=11i7we7y1vxi8

[almasgeeks]

#IKnowThisMuchIsTrue estrena mañana en #HBOLAT y #HBOGOLA Una saga familiar entre gemelos en una historia de traición, sacrificio y perdón. Protagonizada por @MarkRuffalo, basada en la obra de #WallyLamb, adaptada y dirigida por #DerekCianfrance. @hbolatam . . . . #iktmit #hbo #hbolatinoamerica #hbooriginal #melissaleo #rosieodonnell #kathrynhahn #archiepanjabi #juliettelewis #series #serietv #showtv #tvshow #serie #panamá #panama #pty #507 #panama🇵🇦 #panama507 #instapanama #panamazing #panamagram #geek #almasgeeks (en Panama City, Panama) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_-4sHaHFIk/?igshid=w768uee7syu4

[almasgeeks]

View this post on Instagram

No abandonas a las personas que amas. #IKnowThisMuchIsTrue, este domingo gran estreno en #HBOLAT y #HBOGOLA Protagonizada por @MarkRuffalo, basada en la obra de #WallyLamb, adaptada y dirigida por #DerekCianfrance. @hbolatam . . . . #iktmit #hbo #hbolatinoamerica #hbooriginal #melissaleo #rosieodonnell #kathrynhahn #archiepanjabi #juliettelewis #series #serietv #showtv #tvshow #serie #panamá #panama #pty #507 #panama🇵🇦 #panama507 #instapanama #panamazing #panamagram #geek #almasgeeks (en Panama City, Panama) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_0xI1oHqmx/?igshid=2mimu6b90wsy

[shadycroissantmuffinsalad-blog]

"Who am I now that I've thrown my life into the ocean? Who will I be?"

-We Are Water

[bawarementally]

#guilt #wallylamb #past #thepastisgone #leavethepastinthepast #leavethepastbehind #keepgoing #moveforward https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo6WRsygmLM/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1c6y4xngad34