Tuesday, August 5, 2008

The Shack

It's a best-seller.  It's controversial.  It might be a best-seller because it's controversial.  Or maybe people are talking about The Shack by William P. Young because it's changing lives.

I'm not going to tell you about the story.  But I will tell you the story behind the story.  William P. Young was once suicidal.  He went to a counselor named Scott and basically said, "Either you help me out or I'll shoot myself."  William got the help he needed and then wrote The Shack to help his kids.

After The Shack came out, William got a letter from a woman who said, "Thank you for writing The Shack.  It helped me heal after my husband was shot by our son when our son was high on drugs and mistook his father for an undercover cop."  William wrote back to this woman and asked for her phone number because he wanted to call and talk about her husband.  Why?  Because her husband was the counselor who helped him so many years before.

And even crazier...Scott was my marital counselor.  Scott changed my life and now he is changing many more through his influence in The Shack.  

William couldn't bring himself to attend Scott's funeral, but my husband flew back to Portland to attend.  He said there were probably a thousand people there.  Scott was buried in the ground that day, but his legacy lives on.    


10 Comments:

Blogger Becky said...

Wow! What an incredible story behind the story...a true testament to the handiwork of the Lord. What amazes me is how many of these types of "Godincidences" occur out there that never come to light...and how incredible it is when they do! Thanks for sharing!

August 5, 2008 10:26 PM  
Blogger Jenster said...

Wow! (Sorry to copy, Becky, but it just seemed like the only appropriate thing to say.)

Our on-line friend, Gretchen, told me about this book and I was planning on reading it. Now with this incredible connection it's a must.

August 6, 2008 5:42 AM  
Blogger Daniel M said...

Thank you Anj for posting this... Scott was and continues to be a HUGE impact on my life. To be touched as much as I was by him then also to be moved by The Shack which Scott was such a big part of really is a gift from God! We serve an awesome God. Scott helped 1 Man... That man in turn wrote a book for his 3 kids and in turn God took that book and has helped MILLIONS of people... all because 2 men made the choice to DO THE NEXT RIGHT THING! This is such a huge reminder to me that doing what God asks me no matter how big or small can have an eternal impact on a small or large scale…Thank you Scott and William for doing the next right thing...
Love you Anj

August 6, 2008 8:34 AM  
Blogger The Daily "B" said...

WOW, that is amazing. What an awesome testimony to leave.

Thanks for sharing this, I'll have to add this to my must read list.

August 6, 2008 9:26 AM  
Blogger Gretchen said...

Hi,

I'm here via Jenster. What an amazing experience you witnessed were part of. Wow. Blessings.

August 6, 2008 5:13 PM  
Blogger angela said...

"Wow" is right! If you haven't read The Shack it is worth checking out. It's not a light read, but it will really make you think...and cry. Gretchen, thanks for stopping by.

August 6, 2008 9:49 PM  
Blogger Julie said...

Wow, an incredible story. I heard William Young on 2 cd's talk about his journey and The Shack. It was powerful. This was after I had read the book.

I LOVED the book. It spoke volumes of confirmations to my heart.

Thanks for sharing.
Julie

August 6, 2008 10:10 PM  
Blogger lisasmith said...

Thanks for this story. There are some deep and powerful truths in the book. It is a book that makes me hunger for The Book as I just read on another blog and found this link in the comments...crazy bloggy stuff! thanks for sharing.

August 7, 2008 8:18 AM  
Blogger Daniel M said...

Just a quick note... I found out that William (goes by Paul) has 6 kids not 3... :-)
Paul has an interview on iTunes that can be downloaded for free. Type in William P Young and it should be one of the last ones on the page.

August 19, 2008 9:28 AM  
Blogger Christina Berry said...

I had no idea, Angela. Absolutely aweseome!

August 24, 2008 3:32 PM  

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