I recently learned of the death of an elderly woman I disliked. Actually, I more than disliked her because she was mean, a misery to herself and others, and had no interest in changing. She put herself on a pretty high pedestal, and lived from a place of knowing that her perspective and opinions were the right ones. She did not appreciate her friends, did not return the love of those around her, sat in judgement of everyone she met, and acted more pious than the pope. My sister has a phrase for people like this who live with their nose in the air, their head in the clouds, and their hind-end in God’s judgement seat: too heavenly minded to be any earthly good.
To my dismay, I met this woman at church. I say “dismay” because I was a pastor’s wife for 25 years, and meeting this woman at church meant that I was not only stuck with her, but I was expected to be nice.
From a woman whose husband just died: “I don’t know what to do. How am I going to live without him?” From a young man whose father died unexpectedly: “What did he do, what did we do to deserve this?” From a mother whose daughter committed suicide: “Will God forgive my daughter for having a bad mother?”
I was sick with a bad virus this past week, so my apologies for missing my usual posting day. My apologies also for this column, which is going to be a digression from my usual. I am on the mend, but I do not have it in me right now to delve into the greater mysteries of the universe, like death and life beyond death. And so I am going to write about books, specifically books that expand your mind, challenge your beliefs, and are good for your soul. This list is by no means exhaustive, as it is a list of the books of this sort that I know personally and can recommend without reservation, but it is a start.