The Stranger in the Lifeboat

by Mitch Albom

“The distance between death and life is not as great as you imagine.”

Yannis turned his way. “Then why don’t people come back to Earth after they die?” The stranger smiled. “Why would they want to?”

“Worry is something you create.” “Why would we create worry?” “To fill a void.” “A void of what?” “Faith.”

I glanced at the Lord, who was eating his piece and looking at me the entire time. He swallowed and smiled. “I am here, Benjamin,” he said. “Whenever you wish to talk.”

She told me once that she had asked the Lord about prayers. He’d said all prayers were answered, “but sometimes the answer is no.”

“If you were really God,” I seethed, “you would have stopped him.” He looked to the sea and shook his head. “God starts things,” he said. “Man stops them.”

Sometimes silent people go unnoticed, as if their lack of words makes them invisible. But being quiet and being invisible are not the same thing.

“When someone passes, Benjamin, people always ask, ‘Why did God take them?’ A better question would be ‘Why did God give them to us?’ What did we do to deserve their love, their joy, the sweet moments we shared? Didn’t you have such moments with Annabelle?” “Every day,” I rasped.

“Those moments are a gift. But their end is not a punishment. I am never cruel, Benjamin. I know you before you are born. I know you after you die. My plans for you are not defined by this world.

“Beginnings and endings are earthly ideas. I go on. And because I go on, you go on with me. Feeling loss is part of why you are on Earth. Through it, you appreciate the brief gift of human existence, and you learn to cherish the world I created for you. But the human form is not permanent. It was never meant to be. That gift belongs to the soul. “I know the tears you shed, Benjamin. When people l...

“We all need to hold on to something, Benji,” she said. “Hold on to me.” She fell from the raft without a splash. I scrambled to the edge. I saw nothing but blue water.

“This world can be a trying place, Inspector. Sometimes you have to shed who you were to live who you are.”