Review: It's Good To Be Here

Right from the title, there is an intimacy in this book.  Most people would have titled it: “It is Good to be Here,” a formal statement you’d expect to read, but not as you would say aloud.  Much of this book comes across as if you are hearing Christina Chase say it to you, saying it to you personally.  The subtitle mentions “The Sacred Wonder of Being Human.”  There are no words to adequately explain the meaning of the word “wonder,” oh, but Christina does that so well.  This BOOK, itself, is a wonder.

The subtitle of the book also relates that this book is “A Disabled Woman’s Reflections on God in the Flesh.”  If she didn’t tell you, I’m not sure you would know Christina is disabled --- physically.  I’ve read many thousands of books in my life; it is rare to find one like this which so radiates the love of the author.  Most books relate ideas: “Here’s what I think.”  A few books may express feelings (often without in-depth thought).  It is a rare book that shows the heart of the author, and Christina Chase puts on display her most beautiful heart.

“Every person needs love.”  Christina says it near the end of the book, but conveys that thought, in love, throughout this great read.  “To really love, one must be willing to suffer” is another thing she says, which echoes what I have heard so many wise men say.  It is a truth I have experienced, and firmly believe.  It is a truth Christina, whose body has been deteriorating since birth, knows well.

I began reading this book in the adoration chapel the Saturday before Christmas.  When I got home, I rush ordered a gift copy for a young girl I know who was recently diagnosed with a terrible disease.  And I gifted it to that young girl, named Christina, on Christmas Eve.  Ms. Chase, know that for at least this one person, you are an instrument of His peace.  Thank you.

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Like most of my exceptional reads, I cannot help but also post a few quotes:

-          Life is not defined by being able to do whatever you want without consequences.  Love, the authentic gift of oneself to another that requires sacrifice, is what life is about.

-          What Jesus went through in the wilderness (the temptations by Satan) is what gives us this understanding of what it means to be God.
And what it means to be human.
Human life is not without struggle and hardship.  The perfect human being --- God in the flesh --- did not use divine power to overcome struggle or avoid hardship.  Christ’s very real temptations and struggles are cosmically important because, by going through them, Christ sanctifies the battles within each and every one of us.

By listening with deep sympathy to the cares and concerns of others, even when we ourselves may be suffering from some burden, we are listening as we might  like to have listened to Our Lord when He was under sorrow and strain.  When we do this, when we give a compassionate ear to someone who is upset or sad, we are weeping with Christ, we are letting Him rest His head upon us as we hold His hand.