END OF THE SPEAR, A True Story (Tyndale House, 2005)

A book you will enjoy reading in which you will find the collision of two cultures and the plan of God. When two worlds collide one family faces its ultimate challenge. Before reading this book, I did some researching. I was looking for a book for my book dinner ladies that would be authentic and entertaining, spiritual and thought-provoking. End of the Spear was the right book to choose. It was all of the above.

Steve Saint takes us on a personal journey. We get to see how he thinks and what he contemplates. The choices are hard. Would we make the choices he makes? Can a person return and live with a “savage” culture among people who murdered your own father? That is what he is asked to do. It’s the unthinkable. Yet, he knows they have changed. The lives of these Waodani warriors have changed. They have turned away from their vengeful “I’ll get you before you can get me” cultural mores, at least in many ways they have.

Saint wrestles with this idea, and his wife joins in the personal struggle. Then the family makes the jump. They enter the wild unknown, returning to a stone-age culture. This story has many sad and happy moments in it. One thing that Saint does well, he shows how to appreciate another culture without ruining it. He sees the seeds of destruction coming their way which will destroy their land and lives. He makes the hard decisions and becomes part of a bigger process than himself.

A Look Back at Life Through my Journal

imageThe last two days I’ve been feeling sort of under the weather so there has been a cessation of activity.

While relaxing, I decided to read through a couple of my personal journals from a few years back. I find it truly amazing how much has changed in a few short years. In those days, I was struggling on so many fronts. There was my work–big time, house hunting, custody battle/mediation/court, family issues, emotional stuff–relationships, health irritations, frustrations and stressors etc..

Angst is written on almost every page of my journals during those years. In dealing with it, I wrote long prayers, messages of faith, quotes and readings that spoke to me, and concern upon concern. No wonder I had high blood pressure! (There were good things too, like my first grandchild being born) It was a complicated dance of real life mixed with faith and my belief in God. His steadying force helping me keep my sanity.

Anyways, it is a joy to see what has changed and improved since those days and how peaceful my life is now. When we are in the midst of something hard, we can’t always see the forest for the trees. The answers to our struggles come over time. Some things can’t be rushed.

I am exceedingly thankful for the blessings that have come my way. God has answered my prayers though sometimes it has been in a round-about fashion. Always, we make a choice. We will choose to either learn from the problem or we will choose to become resentful of the problem. One brings life, the other brings hopelessness.

Don’t ever give up. Trust and believe.