CBB Review – Five Years in Heaven: The Unlikely Friendship That Answered Life’s Greatest Questions

Most everyone has that certain someone in their lives that they point to and say “they made a difference in my life.” Most of us keep that story to ourselves and treasure it as a special gift. On rare occasions some share their story in the hope and trust that it will make a difference in other’s lives as it did in their own. Such is the case with John Schlimm and his new book Five Years in Heaven: The Unlikely Friendship that Answered Life’s Greatest Questions.

The book tells of the friendship between John and Sister Augustine. A friendship that occurred purely by chance when John was led by a childhood friend to visit nearby St. Joseph’s convent and in particular the ceramics shop on the grounds. This chance encounter lead John intro a five year life-changing journey that at the time he really needed.

Like most of us do, John was in a rut and Sister Augustine entered his life at just the right time. What you read in this book are the life lessons provided by 87 year old Sister Augustine to 31 year old John. These lessons are wise and time tested. We can be truly thankful that John chose to share them with the world. There are a number of them in the twenty-four chapters of this book and here I will one that struck me.

This particular example is one I struggle with myself and that is forgiveness. John describes a childhood incident of bullying he had to endure at the hands of four older kids. They were pulling on his arms as if playing tug-of-war, another held his feet and yet another stuffed his shirt, pants and mouth full of grass and dirt. I think most of us would have difficulty forgiving that situation….perhaps never being able to. Sister Augustine shed some light on this for John. “Forgiveness is not easy. By design, it’s not meant to be easy. If it were, it would have little meaning. Yet, it’s one of the greatest gifts in this world that we can give to one another, and to ourselves.”

She goes on to explain how most people’s reaction these days is to get others back when they are wronged. This she goes on to say is wrong and only hurts ourselves. Where she goes with this lesson gave me pause. “These days, people are so caught up in a world that’s competitive and full of temptations. Everyone wants something bigger or more than their neighbor has. A bigger house, a bigger job, more money, more clothes, more gadgets, more popularity, more things. Everyone tries to outdo one another. It’s rare to hear of someone who wants a bigger heart, a bigger faith, or a bigger sense of gratitude for what they already have. This kind of materialism and attachment makes people greedy and territorial. It’s all about me, me, me and mine, mine, mine for so many people, especially out young people today. So when someone hurts us, the temptation to strike back is often too great to resist. All just to prove we’re right and that we know best.”

This book is filled with many lessons like the one above. John Schlimm could have held onto these and kept them for his very own. However he did not and we should be particularly thankful for that. Though John had his five years in heaven with his dear friend Sister Augustine her memory and wisdom will now live on for years to come between the covers of Five Years in Heaven. Sister Augustine says toward the end of the book “That’s what life is meant to be: an unfinished piece of work that others carry on in some way after you’ve gone. That way there truly is no beginning and no end.” John has ensured that the story and lessons of Sister Augustine have no end. For that we have an opportunity of our own little slice of heaven….Sister Augustine is surely smiling.

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