Learning to Fly: An Echo from 'The Shack'
Inspired by William P. Young's novel: The Shack
For years, Amy lived with the unbearable pain of losing her son, Brian. It was the type of pain that never dulled; it only seemed to grow more intense with time. One cold evening, she stumbled upon an old, tattered copy of 'The Shack' by William P. Young. Intrigued, she started to read. The pages of the book spoke of a man named Mack who had also lost his daughter and found her murderer's shack. Mack was invited back to the shack by God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. While there, he was forced to face his pain, guilt, and anger.
One particularly striking sentence stood out, 'Pain has a way of clipping our wings and keeping us from being able to fly...and if it's left unresolved for too long, you can almost forget that you were ever created to fly in the first place.' Amy’s heart ached, processing the profound words.
One day, Amy experienced a dream that left her trembling. She saw herself walking hand in hand with Brian towards a shack. Brian kept repeating, 'It's okay, Mom. You can let me go.' Waking up with tears streaming down her face, she realized the significance of the dream. It was her 'shack' moment, her encounter with God. It was her time to confront her grief and let her son go, knowing he was at peace.
She woke up the following morning feeling different. She felt lighter, as though a heavy burden had been lifted from her heart. It felt as if she was ready to fly again. It was far from easy, and the grief never fully left her, but she had found a way to live with it.
Amy realized 'The Shack' was not just a story about pain and sorrow. It was about healing, about learning to fly again after experiencing the most profound loss. Amy decided to share her journey with others who were also grieving, to show them that even in the depths of despair, they could find hope and heal again. She started a support group named 'Learning to Fly', based on the principles she had learned from 'The Shack'.
In the end, Amy learned that healing wasn't about forgetting; it was about finding a way to move forward. As the pages of 'The Shack' declared, 'The scars you bear are the sign of a competitor. You fought a good fight and you've emerged stronger, more beautiful.’ The book had taught her that even the most profound losses could become bearable losses, and that even the most clipped wings could learn to fly again.