Just a Thought – The First Phone Call from Heaven
Ring, ring, ring! “Hello, Tess?”
“Mom?”
“Yes, I need to tell you something.”
“How, is this happening?”
Ring, ring, ring! “Hello, dad, it’s Robbie?”
“Robbie?”
“Yes, dad it’s me. I’m happy dad. Don’t worry about me, OK?”
“Robbie?”
Ring, ring, ring! “Hello, Katherine?”
“Diane?”
“It’s beautiful, just the way we thought it would be. Don’t worry, I’m at peace.”
Can you imagine receiving a phone call from heaven and on the other end of the line was a loved one that has passed away? The number one New York Times Bestseller, The First Phone Call from Heaven, a novel by Mitch Albom, gives the reader a glimpse into the lives of the people of Coldwater, Michigan. Thought-provoking questions seem to arise with every page turned and every word that is read. Is there a heaven? Can we hear from loved ones who have gone before us? Is there life after death?
Before Sully Harding was released from prison, his wife dies in a two-car crash. After being released from prison, he returns home to an unfamiliar life. Just he and his son. Sully, a grief-stricken single father, tries desperately to cope with his past, taking it one day at a time.
However, when phone calls from heaven started to seep into every corner of Coldwater, and Sully’s young son begins to talk about speaking to his mother on the phone, Sully knew he had to do something about it. He knew that his wife Giselle was gone and was never coming back. Whether you believe in heaven or not, Sully Harding was determined to get to the bottom of it.
Sully began to do his own digging and looking for answers. The first place he started was the town library. He started with the first person to hear from heaven, Tess Rafferty. He wanted to know everything about her. What type of phone did the phone call come on? Who was her phone carrier? What time of day did the call come in? How long has her loved one been gone? After finding the answers, he moved on to the next person, Katherine Yellin. Gathering her information, he did the same thing for Doreen Franklin, Anesh Barua, Eddie Doukens, Jay James, and Elias Rowe.
Coldwater was a small town and everything you wanted or needed to know was at the library, so he thought. After gathering all the information he could from the library, he felt something was missing. He looked at his notes and asked questions, but still, something was missing. What did they all have in common? Small town, only one funeral home. “Hmmmmm….I’ll start their next.”
As Sully continue his research to find out whether the phone calls were a hoax or not, he received a visit himself. He couldn’t believe it. He didn’t want her to leave. He didn’t want to leave.
Sometimes things happen for reasons we don’t quite understand. In the novel, people were coming from all over to Coldwater, to pray and be in the presence of the ones who experienced their first phone call from heaven–hoping that they, too, would be chosen to receive a call from heaven.
~Mom are you there, I’m waiting by the phone?