'Almost Heaven' by Chris Fabry

A modern day Job. That was my prevailing thought while reading this book.

Billy Allman's life is marked with tragedy. Natural disasters, death, and human evilness, blow over Billy, but he stands strong in his trust in God through it all. He is a humble man who could never imagine the eternal effect his life has on those around him. He has never been a missionary to a foreign country or preached a sermon. He simply speaks of God's love through his music, and sets on an endeavor to build a small radio station to bring that same music and love to the people of his community.

My favorite line in the book is: `life is a song - a long, winding tune that turns minor at times, major at times, but mostly is just running along in the background. Don't question the purpose of things: just sing along.'

A second running story line in the book is that of an angel sent to watch over Billy's life. I truly enjoyed this perspective, for while Billy was just singing along with his life's song, the angel gave a more thorough view of the unseen spiritual warfare and deeper impact of Billy's life. An example: the angel, Malachi, was speaking of a dangerous situation Billy went in to and said, "Greater is the One we serve, praise His name forever, than the enemy who seeks to kill and steal and destroy. If Billy could have seen what he was up against in that lonely valley of despair...he would not have been able to achieve the task...every step he was mocked and scorned by those lined against him...".

In all, this was a fantastic, thought-provoking, moving book. It truly made the verse from 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 come alive. "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed." I wavered between 4 and 5 stars, but settled on 4 because the book's pace is exceeding slow at times. It doesn't take away from the fantastic depth of the book, but I reserve 5 stars for page-turning, never-forgotten, life-changing books. This book almost falls under life-changing and never-forgotten, but falls short on page turning. I can't wait to read more by this author, and I highly recommend this book as a great perspective on how much value each and every life can have on this earth, however seemingly inconsequential.