Have you ever read a book and when you were done just went “Wow”? “Painting in the Dark: The longing to be seen, to be heard, to be known” by Paul Thorson is that kind of book for me. Paul writes in such a way that you can understand. He admits his ADD and when he writes, you can tell. Which was great for me because that means he doesn’t write in an ongoing, boring fashion (like most of the required reading for seminary - sorry seminary professors out there) but skips from story to story, emphasis to emphasis quickly to make his point.

Probably the best way to describe this book is to tell you what it says on the back cover: “This book is about rocks being lobbed at people like you and me who have climbed some tree somewhere looking for safety.”

Paul Thorson talks about how when we come to know Jesus Christ, we expect our life here on earth to become this great thing but as the back cover says: “Yet for most of us - author Paul Thorson included - “new life” often looks like the old, and it’s irritating. Is it also futile? God, you left me here in a darkened, dangerous place, and I’d like to know why. It is a pursuit so mysterious, a question so nagging, that it continues to shake and surprise all who seek it. But hope lies closer than we expect…..”

If this sparks a cord in you, read the book.

Paul is a musician and has traveled the world speaking and performing. Currently, Paul is in Kiev, Ukraine starting a church for reaching artists and musicians. Paul, if you read this, I hope we can meet up sometime when I travel to Kiev. God bless.