My Dad got a book from one of his Nationwide Insurance Agent friends and he loved it. I have to admit, my type of books are normally not his, so I procrastinated reading it. I finally read the book this summer and it was amazing.
"Same Kind of Different As Me" told by Denver Moore and Ron Hall was a wonderful, true story about two very different people that meet up in a way only God could put together. Denver grew up in Louisiana on a Plantation, where his early life is of constant brokenness and disappointment... but he hasn't seen anything better so he assumes this is all his life can be. He decides to take a chance on a train ride to Texas and see if life on the streets can be better than his life on a cotton farm. Ron grew up and led a very simple life in Texas and found a love for high end paintings and formed a career by buying and selling art. This led to him making a lot of money.
Ron Hall's wife is a stubborn woman who has a heart of gold. Deborah (Debbie) brings the two of them together and creates a special bond that will shine for many years to come. Debbie and Ron's marriage starts to go in different directions. Debbie is in love with the Lord and Ron is in love with art. To bring them back together, and to put God first, they decide to volunteer weekly at a shelter to serve food to the homeless people on the "other side of the bridge". Miss Debbie (as she is affectionately known) does not just want to show up and serve food. She makes it her mission to show the Love of the Lord through her actions and starts to build friendships with the "lowest" people in Fort Worth, TX. I do not want to give away any part of the book, but I strongly encourage anyone who can spare a little time to read this special book.
Some of the questions that the book brings up are prejudices, homelessness, sickness and suffering, forgiveness and most importantly, Faith. The discussion questions are great for a group, a couple, or just things for you to think about. The main thing I do not want people to assume is that this book is only about how rich people should give there time and money to help people in poverty. A friendship is born through the actions of someone giving up their time, but it was more a story about a monetarily rich man that builds a "catch and keep friendship" with a man who is rich spiritually. God used the lives of these people to show what can blossom if you put your pride aside and just love.
There are many key points that I took away, but the 2 biggest nuggets of information the Lord showed me was:
1. To never just assume people are in the position they are in because of their "bad" actions, but to show them the love that God has showed you. God knows all of our deepest thoughts and desires... and He still loves all of us more strongly than we will ever be able to grasp.
2. God allows suffering in this world and he has allowed "bad things to happen to good people." He does this because of free will. God does not always answer our prayers in our timing, but with patience and trust, we have to believe He is in control and all will be done at His timing and will.
If you do read the book... and I hope you do... please do not read the discussion questions or look at the pictures in the book till the end. It does give away some things and I feel it might make more of an impression if you do not see it coming. Please let me know your thoughts and if you have read the book! I am about to start reading "Crazy Love," I hope to write something soon on that one!
