First Phone Call from Heaven

by Mitch Albom

What happened next depends on how much you believe.

The news of life is carried via telephone. A baby’s birth, a couple engaged, a tragic accident on a late-night highway—most milestones of the human journey, good or bad, are foreshadowed by the sound of ringing.

“Fear is how you lose your life . . . a little bit at a time. . . . What we give to fear, we take away from . . . faith.”

Although these people would have passed away eventually, the mystery of death is why it chooses a particular moment. With no earthly answer, coincidence can become conspiracy.

There are two stories for every life; the one you live, and the one others tell.

Bad news has no limit. We often feel it should, like a rainstorm that can’t possibly get any heavier. But a storm can always worsen, and the burdens of life can, too.

“Heaven . . . is the same feeling. . . . No fear. No dark. When you know you are loved . . . that’s the light.”

Desire sets our compass, real life steers our course.