Waking Up in Heaven
A True Story of Brokenness, Heaven, and Life Again
by Crystal McVea
and Alex Tresniowski
Howard Books (Simon & Schuster), 2013. 245 pages.
Review written February 1, 2020, from a library book
In December 2009, Crystal McVea died in a hospital room and spent time in the presence of God. While there, he showed her his unconditional, overwhelming love for her.
To show us how significant and earth-shaking that revelation was, Crystal tells her life story. She was abused in her childhood beginning at three years old. As a teen, she had an abortion. She didn’t feel remotely lovable or forgivable.
But in heaven, Crystal saw a beautiful little girl and her heart filled with love for her. Then God showed her that girl was herself.
And then another understanding passed between God and me, and I knew this is what He’d been trying to show me all my life. He’d been trying to show me how very much He loved me.
I knew God was allowing me to see myself as He saw me. And in His eyes I was an absolutely perfect creation, and I always would be. All the things that happened to me on Earth, all the bad decisions that caused me to hate myself – none of it mattered. I had believed God couldn’t possibly love me, not after what had been done to me, not after what I had done. But this belief was a lie, and God blasted the lie by showing me the intensity of His love for me.
I believe intellectually that God loves each of us like that. But this story put it into emotions, helped visualize that kind of love.
Since then, Crystal has been telling her story and letting other people know how much God loves them.
I read this book slowly, a little bit at a time, as I do with most nonfiction. I think I might have enjoyed it more and kept the thread of the story better if I had read it more quickly. But the overall message is powerful – that God has His hand on our lives, and God loves us.
Find this review on Sonderbooks at: www.sonderbooks.com/Nonfiction/waking_up_in_heaven.html
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