Life's a journey...: Parting the Waters

The book Parting the Waters is a novel about finding beauty in brokenness and is a true story about a tragic drowning accident that took the life of one teenage boy, Jeremy, and left another teenage boy, Jacob, in a coma. The prognosis for Jacob was grim, however his devoted family and community did not give up hope and continued to trust that God would have the final say. This book touches the heart in countless ways and speaks volumes about the amazing power of God, His timing and greater plan for each person's life.

The story of Jacob was first told to me when I was a freshman in college. God had blessed me with a brilliant and talented roommate named Grace and Jacob was her big brother. One night as we laid in our bunk bed she told me about the tragedy and how it had changed her family's life. She talked about the accident, the guilt she had felt, how they feared he would not make it and the long road to recovering; and then she talked about the community and the miracles that surrounded his accident. As I listened to her story, the part that amazed me was how she and her family were able to find so much joy in life, even through painful trials. It had only been 5 short years since the accident, however Grace had a deep faith in God and was one of the most joyful, fun, mature and carefree people I had ever met.

When I heard that her mom, Jeanne, was going to write a book about the accident I was excited, and a bit apprehensive, to read it. To get a better understanding of how this family found so much joy and peace in the midst of tragedy was intriguing, however I felt it was going to be difficult to read about their pain and suffering. Although I did shed many tears while reading this book, Jeanne did an incredible job of balancing the despair with celebration of the work that God was doing.

For me, the book really spoke to the idea of why bad things happen to good people. There were a few quotes in the book that really made me think about the idea of God being in control and having a greater plan that we do not understand.

Here are two quotes from the book:

"We chose to believe God was in control, and we trusted His love and promise that all things work together for good. But our belief didn't satisfy the nagging desire to understand. How could good come through Jacob's affliction? And why Jacob? Why a young man who was just blossoming in his faith and in every other way? Why a kid with so many talents and so much potential? How could it be best for God to unmake all He had made?"

"God alone is in control. We can't thwart God's plan. He doesn't give you or anyone else that kind of power. We have to trust that He has His reasons for allowing this in Jacob's life."

Life is a journey that each one of us only gets to do once. We do not always get to pick our path, however we do get to choose our reactions and with God on our side He promises to make all things work together for good.

What will your story be?

Below is a trailer for the book; I encourage you to watch it and grab a copy of the book. You will not be disappointed.