It seems that every year during vacation I pick out a book
to read. This year it was Tuesdays with
Morrie by Mitch Albom. Mitch is a famous sports writer with the Detroit
Free Press. Morrie was Mitch’s college professor and mentor. They both
connected back up after 16 years absence when Mitch found out that Ted Koppel
on Nightline was having an interview with Morrie because he was slowly dying of
ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease. This book is the weekly visits on Tuesday that Mitch
had with his old professor.
This book was originally published in 1997. I have the 2007
edition with Mitch’s Afterward in it. Nancy and I both read it to each other
while traveling in the car during our vacation. Mitch presents his weekly
conversations as a final test, a final thesis, to be turned in and the lessons
learned during the intense and emotional conversations.
The book is at once easy to read and hard to read.
Easy—because snapshots of the past are woven into present narrative and
conversation. Hard—because heart, personal memories and fears, are all drawn
out for each reader with their raw edge of harsh reality.
Over the next few weeks I want to draw ideas and quotes from
this best seller. I will reflect on them with relevant observations.
To get us started, I want to reflect on part of the title.
The book is entitled…Tuesdays with
Morrie: An old man, a young man, and life’s greatest lessons. It is
published by Broadway Books out of New York.
“Life’s greatest lessons.” If you could take time and share
with someone younger than yourself about life’s greatest lessons, what would
you share? When you begin talking about life’s greatest lessons, several
dynamics come into play.
First, life’s greatest lessons are hard won and blood
bought, so to speak. The reason they are lessons is because they come at a
price. It is from the University of Hard Knocks that one receives his or her
degree. Those hard knocks are the harsh reality of life that cannot be ignored.
Second, life’s greatest lessons are akin to the Wisdom
Literature of the Bible. They speak of practical wisdom, understanding God’s providential hand in the
learning process. Wisdom gained from life shapes and molds one’s character,
which is God’s divine intent for each human being.
Third, some of life’s hardest lessons become part of the process of divine
discipline. The big question here is, “Am I willing to learn from life’s
experiences, and allow my heart, mind and soul to be shaped into a Christ-like
character?”
Find you a copy and join me in this journey over the next
few weeks!
In Christian love, Curtis
