Megan's Secrets by Mike Cope looks pain in the eye and doesn't blink. OK, maybe it blinks once or twice because there are tears (no really, there is something in my eye), but it does not look away, does not back down, and does not fold in the presence of pain. It is a book of hope in the context of loss and pain. It is not about superheroes unaffected by pain, but instead a book about redemption, the meaning of longing, and humility.
A theology of hope doesn't work in isolation. It is clear that people need each other and need God in a theology of hope. That is why Cope's writing connects his own pain with the pain of others and to scripture. He frames loss and grief as real and painful and unjust as he shares a theology of a hope as he introduces us to all that he has held onto since Megan retired from telling secrets. Megan's Secrets is a theology of hope that is not cluttered by impossible language, but really simple language. Not easy, but simple.
I got to know Megan a little in this book. I saw her innocence, dependence, faith, and humor. Cope listened to Megan and didn't miss the secrets she had. I thought of my own parenting with my own children. Am I missing the secrets they are telling me?
When I was done reading the book, I wanted it to be
