When it comes to 'Heaven Visitation' book, I might be considered a bit of a skeptic. While I am one who believes the Bible is the Word of God, and Jesus Christ is His Son, the only way through this life into that eternal reward, the seemingly glut of these type of books puts me off.
This is not state all of the books are false, written by people with selfish motives. I cannot claim any special advanced knowledge to hold a position one way or the other. No one can prove God's existence outside of the faith of the people who believe in Him - and how on earth does one ever prove faith?
Perhaps one needs to be invited on a trip to heaven.
This particular book, I took notice of long before I read it; and I ignored it for the reasons stated above. However, one day I ventured into my local coffee shop to order my simple cup of small coffee, only to be accosted by a friend who worked their as the barista with accolade after accolade on the virtues of this book. Her rabid excitement convinced me I had to give this one a try.
First off, it is more a book of the family than any story of what awaits people in heaven. If one begins reading with the desire to jump right to the 'heaven' parts, prepare to be disappointed. A little prologue gives the big reveal (that the little boy Colton made a trip to heaven) up front; but then the actual story begins with the Burpo family and the severe crisis they face - one right after the next.
The culmination of this is Colton, in the hospital, fighting for his life.
It was a touching sequence of events to witness the struggles this family went through to retain hold of their faith. I was particular moved by Todd's exposition at one point in the story, talking about the friends who were praying for them. He recounted a story from the Bible in which the friends of a paralytic brought him to Jesus to be healed from his infirmities. It was the faith of the friends, and not the man himself, which Jesus saw and set the man free.
Everyone goes through great struggles in their lives, where the weight of that struggle threatens to strip every last vestige of belief from their person. It is the friends whose faith steps in to fill that void, the very same type of friends who supported the Burpo family in this intense time.
Such is one of the true blessings of this book, the commonsense teaching he shares from his own experience.
When the books enters the visitation to heaven segment, the revelations come from Colton as a simple matter-of-fact. He tells his family what he has seen, what he has experienced, almost as if they should already have known that. His childlike voice comes through; his impetuous nature is clear. It is a joy to behold.
With obvious mid-western ambiance, this is one of those rare books everyone will tell their friends and family to read. While I did experience moments of doubt that this could be nothing more than a child's whimsical imagination recounting a fantastic dream, reading the same wonder confessed of Colton's mother and father, and hearing Colton talk of things he could never have known (his sister in heaven from a miscarriage), leaves a reader, at the last page, seeing faith restored and hope ablaze.
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