“Death Changes Everything”

“Death Changes Everything”

One of my favorite opening lines in a book is, “Death Changes Everything” from Dorothy Allison’s book Cavedweller.

Yes it does.

If you are a Christian, you might think it’s the beginning. If you are not, you might think it’s the end. Or you might be in the category of “I don’t want to think about it. Period”. Whatever your thinking, life is changed by death.

Recently, we saw the movie The Shack where my thinking had changed or shall we say broadened. Now, I had read the book several years ago and recall brushing it off as the author’s overactive imagination. However, when you see it on the big screen and see all the visuals your mind does start to go in new and challenging directions. In the movie, the main character’s little daughter is abducted on his watch while they are out camping. And death certainly did change that family. (That’s all I will tell you in case you want to see the movie). Briefly, he is on a spiritual quest in the aftermath. God appears as a black woman. Whoa! Did that ever knock my white, bearded Santa Claus image out of the park. A million “what if’s” swirled in my brain. After all that swirling settled, I came to the conclusion that God meets us where we are at in a way that we can accept and understand. Now, if you want to know more, you will just have to fork out $20 and head on over to Bell Tower or Gulf Coast theater.