This book has become a New York Times Bestseller, and the back of the book reads a little something like this..."When Colton Burpo made it through an emergency appendectomy, his family was overjoyed at his miraculous survival. What they weren't expecting though, was the story that emerged in the months that followed - a story as beautiful as it was extraordinary, detailing their little boy's trip to heaven and back.
..."Colton, not yet four years old, told his parents he left his body during the surgery - and authenticated that claim by describing exactly what his parents were doing in another part of the hospital while he was being operated on. He talked of visiting heaven and relayed stories told to him by people he met there whom he had never met in life, sharing events that happened even before he was born. He also astonished his parents with descriptions and obscure details about heaven that matched the Bible exactly, though he had not yet learned to read. With disarming innocence and the plainspoken boldness of a child, Colton tells of meeting long-departed family members...Retold by his father, but using Colton's uniquely simple words, Heaven is for Real offers a glimpse of the world that awaits us, where as Colton says, "Nobody is old and nobody wears glasses." Heaven is for Real will forever change the way you think of eternity, offering the chance to see, and believe, like a child."
So this book...wow it rocked me, and I even knew a fair bit about it before I actually started reading it, but it still rocked me and spurred on countless conversations with people. And as I was reading it, I remember honestly asking Peter what people might possibly say to discredit it. And he turned to me with a smile on his sweet face and simply said, "Well they could say the whole thing was false and all of it was simply made up!" Funny how that thought didn't even cross my mind. I mean I believe with my entire being that Heaven is for real, and I loved the simplicity of Colton's experience, thus each little bit was simply confirming what I already believed to be true. But not everyone believes what I believe, and leave it to my husband to remind me of that!
So we read this book for our June book club, and I was eager to hear what everyone else had to say about it. And the first question that was asked was..."Do you believe it??" And I couldn't answer "YES!" fast enough! I believe this book and Colton's 3-year-old Heaven experience is true with all my heart. There are so many heartfelt moments within the book that rocked me to the core, and I was truly in awe time and time again at how much God actually does know! We are known by Him. Every single bit of us is known by Him.
And I will leave you with this...Skeptics and critics alike can argue what they will. They can discredit the entirety of Colton's experience and his story by saying it's entirely false, completely made up, a publicity stunt, and the list could go on and on and on. But the bottom line is...regardless of the truth of the story - people are reading it, people are interested, and some people, like myself, are left in awe, filled with hope, and inspired for the day to come when they will meet Jesus face to face.
So read it for yourself...and make your own opinion. I should say that I felt the book may have been a little too long (153 pages) and the dad's voice may have been a little too loud, but all in all it was an excellent book club choice. And, ultimately, it was Colton that came up with the book's title - when the editor asked him, "What do you want people to know from your story?" he simply replied, "I want people to know that heaven is for real." Don't you just love that!
Read about Heaven is for Real in the New York Times HERE, and watch an interview of the family on the TODAY show HERE.
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