I connected with this author on a number levels. I lost my mom several months ago but at times it's still feels as fresh as if she only passed yesterday. I have many fond memories of my mother and I miss her every single day. But reading this book reminded me that my mother truly lives on through me. My mom, like the author's mother, was a devout Catholic and throughout her lifetime she constantly shared her faith with all of us.
I can easily recall the countless times she would offer to pray for a friend or loved one who might be struggling with one of life's difficulties. My mom's practice of praying for others was very similar to Mary Lou Quinlan's mom, Mary Finlayson. The only difference between my mom and Mary was that Mary wrote down all of her petitions to God on tiny bits of scrap paper. After writing her prayers she folded each piece of paper up until it was very small and stuck it in her God Box. Once Mary tucked each little prayer in her God Box she believed the issue was no longer something to worry about. Her prayer was with God and the worry was His to handle. What a wonderful practice of letting go and letting God handle your worries!
The night before her mother's funeral Mary Lou, her brother, Jack and her father were exhausted and trying to hold themselves together. Everything in the house reminded them of their loving mother and wife. Suddenly they remembered the God Box but realized that even after all these years they had no idea where Mary kept it. Determined to find this box they went on a search throughout the house. Finally Mary Lou discovers not only one God Box but ten of them stuffed full of prayers that her mother had written down over a 20 year span.
The book shares how Mary not only prayed for her family, but also friends and even strangers. She prayed for help with simple life decisions like what kind of flooring to choose as well as overwhelming life scenarios such as loved ones dealing with infertility and her own battle with cancer.
In The God Box, Mary Lou Quinlan shares with her readers the emotional journey that unfolds as she discovers the varied wishes and concerns of her mother over the years. You learn about her family from the early days to the present and many of their struggles and happy times in between. This sweet and loving tribute will warm your heart. You will laugh. You will cry. And it's likely that you will finish the book with a desire to create your own God Box.
I highly recommend this darling book...it's a quick and highly inspirational read!
More to come soon...until then,
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