My mom gave me a copy of In the Eye of the Storm by Max Lucado. Truthfully, I was not fully committed to reading this book as my previous experience with Lucado (his Ephesians study guide) was banal and uninspired. However, to my surprise, I very much enjoyed In the Eye of the Storm. In this work, Lucado's purpose is to give you encouragement to not only face life's biggest tempests, but to survive them. To maintain courage and strength even though the world may seem like it is falling apart around you. The key is to see Christ standing tall in your worst moments, to trust him fully and to step out toward his open arms. Know that Christ understands completely as he had times when his world closed in on him. The fact that he made it through so many different trials, means that he fully understands and appreciates whatever you are going through. He can serve as a perfect example of how to weather the storm.There were two real-life accounts in the book that really resonanted with me. The first was the story of Sarah Winchester (Chapter 21 - Castles of Sorrow). Sarah was the heiress to the Winchester rifle fortune. However, when she came to understand how many people had been killed by her family's invention, she began a rapid descent into isolation and madness and guilt. An eerie example of how not to handle life's storms. The second account was of Eddie Rickenbacker (Chapter 24 - The Sacrificial Visitor). Eddie devoted time every evening feeding the seagulls at the pier. We are then told that a seagull was given to him as a sacrifice when his B-17 crashed into the Pacific Ocean during World War II. The crew had been floating in a life raft for a week and had run out of provisions. They were slowly starting to die. They were miles from land and life. Eddie prayed and asked for God to help. It was then that a seagull landed on his head. That seagull provided immediate food for the men and bait for fishing, and enabled the crew to hang on until they were rescued. Eddie and his crew survived the storm, and Eddie never forgot.
