Unbroken (Book 1)

This summer I have quite the reading list I am looking to conquer. And as I read these books (or article, sermon, w/e), I hope to blog about each posting my thoughts on the material, things like what I've learned, what I hope to apply, etc. So here goes the start of something that I hope to be a reoccurring event.

The first book I've read is Unbroken: A WWII story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. Unbroken is the story of Louis Zamperini, an American lieutenant serving on the pacific side of WWII. The story traces his entire life but it mainly focuses on the story of his survival from a plane crash out on the pacific. It is written as a narrative, presenting the facts of history in a gripping and engaging way. Not only did this man endure weeks out on the pacific, but he ended up being captured as a POW by the Japanese and experienced extreme amounts of torture. Once he returned home, he succumbed to drinking trying to run away from his post traumatic stress, mostly the haunting memories of the day in and day out beatings given to him by "The Bird."It was while he was in this state, that in an attempt to save their marriage, his wife brought him to hear the great evangelist Billy Graham. After  hearing him a few times, he eventually became a Christian. Through his Christian faith he was no longer haunted by his memories of the war, and even came to a point of forgiving the Japanese soldiers who took part in belittling and beating him and others in his time as a POW. He then spent the rest of his life sharing his story and the faith that he came to know through it all.

I can almost guarantee, go through that much physical and psychological suffering and the average human would think twice before spending the rest of their life praising God because of it. That is the amazing capability of the Gospel though, someone who by most standards should be cursing God for all that has happened to Him is now able to see the hand of God through it all, and give Him glory. This story is yet another reminder that God uses all sorts of ways to draw His people near to Him. It is also a reminder that all that God has given to me in my life is an amazing blessing. There's not a day that goes by in which I have to wonder where my next meal is going to come from (even if it's from the caf, haha). It is very easy to take that for granted and sadly at times push God out of my life. You see the opposite should be true though, since everything in my life is a blessing, it is also a calling to live for Christ all the more, a calling that I sometimes fail at.

Another random thing that stuck out to me that I would like to mention is the clarity thought that Louie and Phil experienced when they were adrift on the Pacific. Not only is it amazing they were able to keep their minds on anything that was not food when they were on the brink of starvation, but the depth and detail they had while recreating memories was also astounding. A lot of that depth came from the fact that while on the pacific, they were free from distraction when it came to their thoughts. Just something to think about since we live in a world where distraction from reality is the goal of just about everything we interact with, be it television, video games, the internet, w/e. Though it goes without saying, I am not condemning those things, as I watch television, have played video games, and use the internet quite often. I am just inviting people to think about how those things are being used in our lives (especially my own), and also, how much. Distraction is interesting topic that I will be looking into deeper this summer when I read a book entitled: Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business.

With all that said, if you have any interest in WWII history, or just love good story telling, pick up and read Unbroken. It is a wonderful story of Gods providence and protection over a young man who saw and experienced far worse in that short period of time than most of us will ever experience in a lifetime.