Could You Love Me Like My God - Softcover

Fowler, Beth

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0684838443 ISBN 13: 9780684838441

Publisher: Fireside, 1997

Synopsis

An inspirational guide for people of all faiths explores the joys and promises of divine love in a gift book that asks such questions as "Could you always forgive me?" or "Could you encourage me and help me fight my fears?" Original. 40,000 first printing.

About this title

From the Publisher

Although God often speaks in mysterious ways, divine love is constant. With a little help from above, Beth Fowler raises her sights to explore the joys of the highest form of love in this charming collection to share with those you cherish.

Could you always keep your promises?

Could you save me a place to sit beside you?

Could you turn my burdens into wings?

From the Author

People ask what inspired Could You Love Me Like My God?, and after much thought, I realized that Could You Love Me Like My God? is my way of saying thank You, God, for Your love, for Your amazing communication with me, for Your surprising gifts in everything that happens, for Your guidance with and through people, and for how You continue to save and transform my life, especially since I didn't always know You.

My hopes and dreams were destroyed by a life-shattering experience, and that was how I came to know God. I filled up spiral notebooks with daily letters to God, describing what was happening, asking questions, and giving thanks. My new life with God was such a surprise, such a gift, and such a miraculous use of all that had come before, I felt I could never say thank you enough.

I missed the first chance to say thank you. It was my first book about how a dog's love is unconditional, and how dogs might be here to teach us how to love. It was a miracle book that put me on a path. When news came of its success, I was overjoyed, then heartsick, because I hadn't included thanks to God in it. The book was already published, and successful, and it was too late to change.

A friend knew how upset I was. She suggested maybe the first book was a good start, but that later, I could write about God's unconditional love. The title would be the same, just reversing two letters. Could You Love Me Like My Dog? would become Could You Love Me Like My God? The idea was wonderful, but it scared me. I felt I could never say it right, and to try would be presumptuous.

A year later, a minister asked me about the dog book. He explained that at seminary, he studied the Bible in its original Greek and Hebrew, and that these languages have many verbs for to love, each with specific meanings. One passage described how we are to relate to God. Translated, the Greek verb means we are to love God as a dog would kiss the hand of its master. When I heard that, my heart pounded, and inside, I knew it was a message to go ahead and write Could You Love Me Like My God?

Months later, driving home to Austin before dawn, phrases for the God book started coming. I jotted them down on a yellow tablet, and by 5am, in Hillsboro, the first 23 pages were completed. I didn't think about them, they just came. Then, wondering how to do the book cover, I remembered a sketch from years ago. In a study class, we were asked to draw God. I drew dotted lines emanating from the center of the page like rays from the sun. Then I imagined the red heart on the new Simon & Schuster dog book cover, and knew the God book cover would be a red heart surrounded by rays.

The next day, the mock-up was completed and mailed. Since God had given the book to me, I wondered how to come up with the rest of its contents. The following Sunday, one of my favorite priests announced he was leaving our church to complete his doctorate. That day, he taught a special class on the Psalms, and I felt a strong tug to attend. He pointed out the Psalms are the most spiritual part of the Bible, representing every human emotion, and that there are one hundred and fifty Psalms. Then I knew. I needed exactly one hundred and fifty-five pages for Could You Love Me Like My God?

By the middle of June, I started to panic about the book. I told God I was sorry I was so scared and prayed for encouragement. That night, I dreamed of soft, cloudy people in the sky showing me a new mock-up of the book. Each page was more beautiful than the last. One had an embossed white dove, another was gentle pastels, like a sunset, and the next glittered with iridescent colors. The next morning, I woke up with a wonderful sense of peace and gratefulness for God's encouraging dream.

A few days later, on the Friday before my birthday, Simon & Schuster bought Could You Love Me Like My God?

What inspired me? God did. And the chance to say thank you.

About this edition

• Publisher: Fireside
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0684838443
• ISBN 13: 9780684838441
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 160