Oceans Apart

I cried oceans reading this book by Karen Kingsbury.

My heart breaks when a child suffers from and gets caught in circumstances not of his doing but of adults’. Kingsbury makes each character so real they seem to be within patting distance. You can almost feel their heartbeat or lack of it.

The characters push and pull you in different directions—hating them, loving them, pitying them, and embracing them, like you would a universe created by God to be good but turned bad because of sin.

“Love comes when forgiveness happens” is the through line that repeats itself many times till you get the drift.

Oceans Apart is about second chances, of being tempted into sin, drowning—then being forgiven so you could come up for grace, and swim again.

The book was lent to me by my friend Yay, who borrowed it from our mutual friend, Gracia.  “Before I return the book to Gracia,” Yay offered, “you might want to read it.”

I did—in just one long sitting. And now I will return it, with gratitude, to Yay, who will return it, with double gratitude, to Gracia.

The story of our faith began in the Garden of Eden, where sin tossed us far away from God. We became oceans apart—till Jesus came to bridge the oceans by offering Himself as surrogate sin.

When we accept the grace of forgiveness from our Messiah, no ocean can ever separate us from God again.  

". . . nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love." Romans 8:38