“Lucky” For Me, Christmas Came Early This Year!

 I just finished reading “The Lucky One” by Nicholas Sparks this afternoon.  It was good, but the ending was predictable (Spoiler: somebody dies! It’s a Nicholas Sparks book; I was expecting it!). I’m glad the decedent wasn’t the person I was predicting it would be, but won’t share the name here. I don’t want to spoil the story.  I will say that the decedent was the villain of the story!  Justice is served!  At present, I’m preparing to embark on another “Journey Through A Book” with “The Christmas Shoes” by Donna VanLiere.  The book was inspired by the song of the same name; the song was performed by the group NewSong, and recorded and released about 20-25 years ago!  The song inspired the book, and there was a movie based on the book; there were also several sequels!  I can’t wait to get my hands on those as well! Once a bookworm, always a bookworm!  “The Christmas Shoes” tells the story of Robert, a successful attorney who has everything in life—and nothing at all. Focused on professional achievements in and material rewards, Robert is on the brink of losing his marriage. He has lost sight of his wife, Kate, their two daughters, and ultimately, himself.  Eight-year-old Nathan has a beloved mother, Maggie, whom he is losing to cancer. But Nathan and his family are building a simple yet full life and struggling to hold onto every moment they have  together. A chance meeting on Christmas Eve brings Robert and Nathan together— he is shopping for a family he hardly knows, and Nathan is shopping for a mother he is soon to lose.  In this one encounter, their lives are forever altered as Robert learns an important lesson: Sometimes the smallest things can make all the difference. “The Christmas Shoes,” a tale of our shared humanity, is a universal story of the deeper meaning of serendipity and of how a power greater than ourselves can shape, and even save, our lives.  I’ve seen the movie, and I also love the song! If I’m lucky enough to finish reading this novel in a timely fashion, I’ll probably have time to take a “journey” through the 20th anniversary of my favorite author’s (Richard Paul Evans) inaugural book, “The Christmas Box”. I read it when it first was released, but I would not mind reading again “for the first time.”  "Whatever the reason, I find that with each passing Christmas the story of the Christmas box is told less and needed more. So I record it now for all future generations to accept or dismiss, as seems them good. As for me, I believe. And it is, after all, my story." So begins "The Christmas Box", the touching story of a widow and the young family who moves in with her. Together they discover the first gift of Christmas and learn what Christmas is really all about. "The Christmas Box" is a Christmas story unlike any other.  It looks like I have more than one ”journey”ahead of me before the end of 2023, so I guess I better get started!