Illusions

Read Illusions by Frank Peretti this week. It is a time out of place book- 19 yo chicklet from the 70's is "transported" to 2010, still 19, has no idea how she got there, etc. The odd thing is that she has just died as a 59 yo, after a rich and fulfilling life and wife, as a Christian magician. I like the time out of place idea- Kate and Leopold is a fav movie- which is what pulled me in in the first place.

The mechanics of how this was done were hokey and cumbersome; unbelievable; a sci-fi scenario gone wrong- which throws it into fantasy. I'd rather read true sci-fi and be wowed by the what could be. On top of it all, Peretti cheated the end. It was intriguing enough that I read through the whole 400+ pages of it, but honestly, the escape scene at the end lost me. I mean, I got it, but again, the premise wasn't believable (read Time Machine) and so no matter what beautiful escape hatches and scenarios Peretti put together, it just wasn't a true "go" imho, it was a writer writing himself out a situation he didn’t buy himself.

That being said, it was a sweet look at marriage and how the soul of a person remains the same despite decades and situations. Peretti's "note" at the end of the book is what really tied it all together- more than the actual book itself. I love the theme- the hope of all of us that are in a marriage where we truly love and are loved, rather than just exist and mark time- that our spouse would "know" us, the essence of ourselves, despite never having met us before.

My husband and I often joke that in heaven we'll be un-married (we'll have to be 'cause he'll be in the intellectual area punning with the other nerds and I'll be in the library overlooking the garden). We like being married and all of that- truly, I mean, we still are. But you know, it takes intentionality and purpose to be in a relationship that is fulfilling and honest and kind and about creating something better together than apart.

My young and recently widowed friend was sharing about the value and importance of family and how she takes deep comfort in the fact that she and her husband got family, treasured it without idolizing it, and lived out that value. That despite his early and untimely death, he left a legacy of love and joy and hope behind in the lives of the people he loved. The art of his life and soul continues despite the fact that he is in a different time and place.

I'd like to think my husband and I would know each other, even if we were separated by time and space. I'd like to think that I know the art in him, and he knows the art in me, enough.

And I think, that was really the gist of Perretti’s book, despite the awkward mechanics of how he got there. Are we living lives that are just smoke and mirrors – illusions, or are we living transparently enough to be known? Are we living with enough curiosity to know others?