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An introduction letter about In Our Fathers' Wake from Maggie Sanchez  (a fictional character from the novel)
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The End – A letter from Maggie
September 11, 2007…so, it sure seems like The End, doesn’t it? Wars and rumors of wars and earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and tornadoes all over the place,…so, I’m putting the end of this story --- this set of stories, actually --- at the beginning of where we are now. And, it really feels like The End to me, so I’m making that the title of my little piece of these three books that the author named, In Our Father’s Wake. But, the start for the stories will be in Buffalo, New York on January 6th, in the winter of 1947.
I’m really worried about our country, the United States that is, because I see all of us under attack from Satan. Yeah, I know, I know, many of you will immediately start thinking that this is all about some corny preaching. Yes, I am a young Christian mother. I come into the story much later however. When you hear I’m a Christian mother, some of you will start thinking I haven’t evolved as far as liberated women just because I believe in stuff you don’t. And, I’ll guess you’re also convinced that Satan doesn’t exist because all kinds of supposedly smart people say God died in the last century and that He never existed anyway. But if your eyes could really see, it’s like kind of seeing things moving under a strobe light instead of what they seem to look like on our TV screens or even right in front of us,… well, then, I think you could see Satan too. I want you to try look at it that way for just a little while. I think Satan is looking back at you from a warp without the strobe light but you can’t see him.
Funny, most of the story is about men, and especially about fathers and sons. But we women know that mothers, daughters, mistresses and wily women run the heart of everything going on in our world anyway.
When I say I’m a Christian I really hope you don’t cringe! I hope I don’t say anything way arrogant or too stupid like Pat Buchanan or Pat Robertson or some of those other politicians and celebrity Christians do sometimes. They keep climbing on the shoulders of Christ and then forget that Jesus and God are the True Word. They say all kinds of good things, right things, and then their vanity takes over and they do and say things that I’ve got to think probably makes Christ cry, again. They keep shouting their names first. It’s a shame that Satan tricks good people into being spokesmen for what’s true by making them forget that God alone is right from the start to the finish. Men, especially, make endless mistakes when they get confused about Who it is that has the Truth. Maybe they get confused because they have those two warring heads.
What’s that joke about Larry Ellison, the Oracle CEO, that I like so much? Oh yeah, in case you haven’t heard it; what’s the difference between Larry Ellison and God? God knows that He isn’t Larry Ellison. And, how about all those other CEO creeps making over 300 times what their average workers make. You can plug in their names instead of Mr. Ellison’s. I hear them condescendingly explain about how they need to make that much money for the economy to work efficiently and I want to puke.
So, anyway, this is not a story about people who already believed in God because they are easily swayed or fall over from intimidation or get a kick out of titillating mumbo-jumbo …or, especially for people who think they own eternal salvation, you know who, the frozen chosen, because they think they know about Jesus and they were elected to heaven from the beginning anyhow no matter what they do wrong. It’s about divine light and amazing grace. It’s about recognizing how that strobe light fools us about what seems good and what seems bad. It’s about how we’re actually reflections, mirrors of another light mixed with our own inner light. You know, watching our shadows looking down from the mouth of a cave and thinking the shadows are really us. Heck, I’m a believer but I also used to be a $1,000 a night call girl for high rollers in Vegas.
I bet many of the frozen chosen will throw out this letter and this book without even bothering to hear the rest of the story once they hear that. That’s ok too. Jesus died for my sins and yours. He forgave me when I repented and got back on the right path, His Way. If you can’t see it isn’t my problem or part of God’s grace to all of us, then I think it’s your problem not mine.
So, I want you to take a chance. Read it. As my man tells me, it’s like Pascal’s wager in Pensées on eternity. When you really understand the odds it’s worth the time to explore. It’s worth a few hours of reading to go beyond the buzz words from the talking heads’ spin machine and read about real heroes and sinners. God’s out there waiting. He has His eternal light. It’s not some strobe light advertisement like you get blinded with when you sit in front of the TV and they bombard you with a hot glimpse of exposed cleavage and then a sales pitch from Satan.
Thanks,
Maggie
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