Patched Together
By Brennan Manning
(Publ: David C. Cook, 2010, 138pp.)
This sweet story wrapped with the delectable cover picture of an ornate crazy quilt, popped into my life this week. I had to have a ‘look-see’. What I found was the simple narration of the story of little Willie Juan, an orphaned Mexican boy of such mixed parentage and such scarred features that he was rejected by his age-mates and lived a lonely life of poverty with his kind grandmother. When the “Medicine Man” appears offering the miraculous Medicine of Love and befriends Willie Juan, the story takes on the quality of an allegory. He talks to Willie Juan of his father, Abba, and of a river flowing from His Father’s throne and tells him his scars are beautiful if he’ll come to truly see them.
The story is briefly told in patches that span the life of Willie Juan till he is old with just three divisions titled: Morning, Noon, and Night. These characterize Willie Juan’s youth, middle-age and old age. Each season has its sorrows and its perplexities, but Abba’s love permeates each and brings healing and peace. The overarching theme of the story is God’s extravagant and endless love. This comforting and hopeful story is beguilingly simple for the profound message it so effectively delivers. It’s easily read in one or two sittings though grasping its meaning may take a lifetime of experience, as it did for Willie Juan.
I first met Brennan Manning’s writing in his book: Ruthless Trust (2002). The theme of God’s abundant love and grace for the sinner, called saint, runs through all his writings. Patched Together reflects, in a way, Manning’s own life story. Its parts are a patching together of two previously published works and a third completely new piece, written in the night of his own life. He wrestles and writes from his heart. Don’t miss this story.
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Some of my favorite quotes are these:
“When you get to heaven, Little Friend, which is where I live, Abba will not ask you how many prayers you said or how many souls you saved. No, he’ll ask, ‘Did you enjoy the fajita?’ He wants you to live with passion, in the beauty of the moment, accepting and enjoying his gifts.” (60)
“Little Brother, it is my heart’s deepest desire to be known, loved, and wanted as I really am. There are some people who have fashioned me in their own image and refer to me in grand language as the ‘Supreme Being’—they prefer those words to ‘Man of Sorrows’…they are fair-weather friends;....They don’t want the real me, but that’s all I have to give.” (61)
“Trust is the key that opens the door to love.” (59)
“Anyone can sing in the light, but it’s those who can whisper a doxology in darkness who are truly grateful.” (112)
“It’s not a tragedy when someone dies at the end of her life.” (115)
“Willie Juan, just know that to live in this world you have to love flesh and blood, hold it close, know when to let go, and then let go.” (109)
“Do we really trust when we can see, Willie Juan?” (122)
“What faith I have has been strengthened in the dark. It’s just the way it is.”
“Live like the beloved of Abba…Your courage in living as Abba’s beloved can give others the strength to do the same. For in the end only one thing remains—Abba’s love… Define yourself as one beloved by God.” (124)
