A Lifetime of Secrets

UPS delivered me a box from Amazon Saturday. Man, I love it when Amazon comes! It is a mixture of excitement and fear – excitement because I know something great is inside, but fear because I usually haven’t notified Sarah, my wife, yet. But this time I wasn’t afraid because I had a $15 gift certificate, and I had to order up to $25 to qualify for free shipping to get the best value for my dollar. Also, I had pre-confessed so she would shower me with grace when Amazon day arrived.

My order included Heretics by G. K. Chesterton (of which I hope I am not, but don’t know because I haven’t read the book), The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind by Mark Noll, and A Lifetime of Secrets by Frank Warren.

Warren’s work is a man’s book. It has a ton of pictures with a modest amount of words. You can order your own copy from Amazon HERE even though I will not receive any commission, but if you're cheap you can buy a cup of coffee and spend an hour or so at Barnes & Noble.

Warren began an art project in 2004 by soliciting decorated postcards from strangers that revealed a secret. He advertised by posting his own address and inviting anyone to send their anonymous secrets to his address as sort of a confession. He never imagined the response. Since November 2004 he has received over 150,000 cards. A Lifetime of Secrets is the latest in his series of published confessions. Just as a word of caution some of the secrets revealed in the book are of a mature nature, but they don’t out weigh the revealing glimpse of humanity in these anonymous confessions.

This is an eclectic grouping of statements from the book. I would say they are my favorite, but some of them squeeze my heart and enrage my passion for the Gospel. While they are hard to read we must because Jesus died for people with these secrets...and people like you and me who are too proud to share our secrets.

“In first grade, I gave a Secret Admirer valentine to the boy I liked. The teacher made me stand up in front of the whole class and say I did it. Everyone laughed. I haven’t given another valentine since.”

“I’m the product of adultery.”

“I destroy videos of myself as a child because it pains me to see a time before I ruined my innocence.”

“I listen to recordings of his sermons when I cut myself.” [posted over a hand-drawn picture of a pastor]

“Sometimes I sit alone in the cafeteria…I have conversations with myself on the phone so people don’t think I have no friends.”

“I spent my last few dollars on index cards and markers so I could send my PAIN to Post Secret. I got to the post office and I realized I forgot stamps. I sat outside and cried so hard that I couldn’t breath. Then a guy came up to me to ask me what was wrong. I told him about every atrocity and showed him my cards. He gave me $5 for stamps so I could be FREE. His name was Gabriel. I not sure if me was an ANGEL or a regular guy, but I do know that my faith in both GOD and HUMANITY has been restored.”

“Mom – I hope you remember buying these postcards. I don’t know any other way to tell you that I’m a lesbian. I hope you see this.”

“I don’t believe in satan, but once I prayed to him and offered my soul if he would make me pretty.”

“I lied. It never came out negative. I just didn’t want both of us worrying.” [printed over a picture of a pregnancy test]

“I handed the most important person in my life the drugs that killed him.”

“TV lied to me about how life would be.” [printed over a picture of the cast from the hit TV show, Saved By the Bell]

“I’m 17, I don’t believe in marriage, and I want to adopt. But every time I watch the Dick Van Dyke show, my Estrogen kicks in and I feel an unbearable want for a husband and a child of my own.”

“I want to be rich and successful someday just so my father will wish he stuck around.”

“I sometimes don’t go to friends party’s because I don’t have enough money to buy food to bring.”

“One day, this will all make sense. It is this hope that keeps me going." [posted over a picture of the Earth]

All of this reminds me of Jesus, “ Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest ²⁹ "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light ” (Matthew 11:28-30).